The Cat and the Canary
by Countdown
Summary: Mr. Masrani had them close the gate while people were still in her paddock. But what if he'd had them lock the gate when the camera showed the worker opening it? After all, they must keep the asset contained at all costs. In which the Indominus Rex is bored, has conflicted and confused instincts… and she's lonely.
1. Chapter 1

Jurassic World quote: "To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat."- Dr. Henry Wu

Warning: Contains the point of view from a highly intelligent _carnivorous_ animal. People die – it isn't pretty. I try not to be too descriptive – but people die, so… ye be warned.

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

His heart beat wildly as his feet pounded against the dirt path. A scream pierced through the air before cutting off with a crunch. Ellis was dead. Without breaking stride Owen listened for any signs of the hybrid. He heard flesh tearing and bones breaking. He pushed his legs to move faster.

The ground shook under him as the massive carnivore resumed the chase. Ahead of him Nick was panicking as the gate's security panel flashed an angry red. The gate was not opening. Nick turned and looked above and behind Owen; sheer terror shone in his eyes. With startling clarity, Owen realized that they were going to die.

Anger warred against hopelessness.

Owen looked Nick in the eye before darting into the thick vegetation. Bushes scraped against the tough fabric of his pants as he raced through them. A loud wooden crack echoed through the area followed by an angry roar.

Another surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins as loud crashing footsteps continued to pursue him. Racing deeper into the paddock, Owen wove through the large trees. He smacked large fronds and leaves away from his face as he heedlessly sprinted through the enclosure. His chest burned as he gulped in air. He wasn't sure how far he had run when he noticed that the hybrid was no longer crashing through the woods right behind him.

The sounds of pursuit fell further behind as he continued his mad dash through the foliage. Slowing to a fast jog, Owen listened carefully for signs of the indominus rex. Her footsteps were fading, moving away from his current location.

He took the opportunity to catch his breath while observing his surroundings as the heavy footfalls continued to grow fainter. Large rain, palm and balsa trees blocked his view of the sky. A cement wall was visible through the trees to his right. He would need to be careful to avoid being pinned down if the indominus came after him again. In the meantime, he needed to see if he could find the exit.

Turning around and going back would lead to the gate and large clearing. The indominus had moved off in that direction. He didn't want to cross that big open area if he could avoid it. It would take a while but following the wall around would eventually lead him back to the door he had entered this paddock through. He began the long trek through the woods.

A scream sounded before stopping abruptly. It was just him and the indominus rex now.

* * *

Three creatures had trespassed into her domain - her small and monotonous place. Normally they hid behind the strong clear barrier. But she had set a trap and prey had taken the bait. She had been tempted to immediately hunt the first critter that had entered. Her patience had been rewarded with two more creatures joining the first. She remained still and silent in the hope that more critters would follow.

A crackly voice caught the attention of the prey. They stiffened and began eyeing their surroundings. Unknown had just given the game away. It was time to spring her trap before anything escaped. Two dashed back towards the small-wall-that-opens that they had all come in through as she moved to intercept them. The other was playing with the small object stuck to the wall by her claw marks.

The runners turned back when she cut off their escape route. It was easy enough to grab the slower running critter and take a quick taste. It squealed and struggled against her powerful hand fruitlessly. With one bite she tore it apart. Fresh warm blood slid down her throat and sent a wave of pleasure through her. The body was a bit chewy and the creature's odd skins scratched her throat slightly. It was the best morsel she had ever tasted.

A pleasant tingle spread through her as the hunt continued - two more morsels to catch and devour. Saliva coated her mouth in anticipation. Giving chase to the other runner was invigorating. Veering to the left, it dashed into the trees. Struggling to change direction she crashed through a tree, breaking its trunk with bruising force. Pain flared through her and she roared angrily.

A red haze clouded her vision momentarily. The prey creature would not escape. She could feel its heat, hear it crashing through the shrubbery and smell the sweat it excreted. Muscles strained as she maneuvered around large trees while chasing the agile creature. It was racing straight towards a tall wall. Anticipation raced through her as she contemplated the best way to trap it, catch it and eat it.

Movement behind her disrupted happy thoughts. She could feel the heat of Plump Prey moving towards the wall that opens. Fast Prey was straying farther from escape – it could wait until later.

Cutting across her paddock, she stood between Plump Prey and its escape. Instead of continuing to run, the chunky one froze in fear. Perhaps a little nudge would get it moving again. Give her something to chase and ease her boredom.

A quick swipe of her hand sent Plump Prey flying a short way through the air. Its screech ended abruptly as it collided with a tree. It gave a few sporadic twitches before lying still. Boring, broken prey.

A quick snap of her jaws and fresh flesh filled her stomach. Rumbling in satisfaction of a full stomach, she stretched out to enjoy the warm rays of the sun for a minute. She could sense Fast Prey along the far wall, still trapped in her home as she expected. She had a perfect view of the suspicious wall near her claw marks (she was fairly certain it could open but had never seen it do so) and lay in front of the small-wall-that-opens. She could take a short break and then play with Fast Prey.

Feeling more content than she could ever remember, she began cleaning herself while keeping track of Fast Prey's movements. Fast Prey was carefully sneaking through the thick vegetation. Likely trying to avoid her detection; an impossible task with the amount of warmth it gave off.

A little later her preening was satisfactory and she rose to her hind legs once more. Although she had enjoyed her fill for the moment, it had been a long time since she had _played_ with anything that moved. She could always eat Fast Prey after it became boring.

Moving stealthily took great care, precision and patience. Especially with Fast Prey on the lookout for her. Each foot was placed carefully and slowly to reduce noise and vibrations through the ground. It was painstakingly slow and difficult, a challenge. But she was making progress in her goal to cut off Fast Prey's path. If she could get a good hiding place it was likely that she could catch it unawares. It was invigorating.

* * *

His shirt felt like a jinx. Claire had called it bad taste and now he wondered if it was bad luck too. Mr. Masrani was still hovering over him. He had used Lowery's controls to lock down the gate trapping people in with the genetically modified monster.

First to die had been a paddock 11 worker. Then the indominus had chased the raptor guy, he was _fairly_ certain he recognized him as a raptor handler anyway, into the trees; at least they had no video view of his death. The paddock supervisor had taken the opportunity to hurry back to the door but wasn't fast enough. The indominus had cut him off, blood staining her teeth. She had tossed him into a tree before eating him too.

The control room was momentarily quiet before the sounds of shifting chairs and radio chatter filled the room. To his left Sandy was staring vacantly at the large monitor while conversing with security about a lost child. On his other side, Vivian's hands were shaking as she checked the status of paddock 11 security. As far as he could see, most of the control room personnel were gaping at the main monitor. Lowery wasn't quite sure if people were mourning the dead or just in shock from witnessing the gory deaths.

There was still the question of how the indominus had hid from the thermal sensors. And he had a horrible feeling that it wasn't equipment failure.

Mr. Masrani stepped back as they watched the indominus rex bask in the sun before she leisurely walked back into the cover of the trees.

"At least… it is still contained." Mr. Masrani hesitantly stated. Almost as though he was trying to excuse locking the gate on people, and maybe he was right. Lowery didn't really want to think what could have happened if the indominus had managed to escaped its paddock. But it didn't excuse the deaths of those men either.

The elevator opened and a wide eyed Claire entered. Mr. Masrani quietly greeted her as he left the room. Vivian began filling Claire in on the status of the cage and arranging for a temporary paddock supervisor, until an official replacement could be made.

A little later Mr. Masrani made it a priority to install equipment that could follow the indominus rex's tracker from her paddock's control room. Apparently something in her messed up genetics allowed her to hide from thermal imaging, making it unreliable in keeping track of her.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you like/what could use improvement. Thanks.

Edit - I discovered the names and job titles of the two who died in this scene. This has now been corrected. January 2016

Edit 2 - So, I went through something worse than your typical writer's block... I ended up hating this story. From my writing (especially in chapter 1) to the very premise it is based upon. I ignored it for a while and hated the premise a little less but my writing still bothered me. I've gone through and revised it. The story remains the same, although some things may have changed (nothing too critical). Mostly I changed the way I presented the information so my writing doesn't make me cringe or feed the flame of hatred quite as much. Some sections have been completely rewritten while others remain mostly the same. (Chapters 1-7). May 2016


	2. Chapter 2

Jurassic World Quote: "Modified animals are known to be unpredictable." – Dr. Henry Wu

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

The shrubs were thick and difficult to navigate through. He hadn't heard or seen any sign of the indominus since Nick was killed. He wasn't even sure exactly where the massive predator currently was but it couldn't be far. The paddock wasn't that spacious.

He moved as quietly as he could, slowly making his way around to the door he had entered this nightmare through. Every sound he heard was carefully assessed for the potential location of the indominus. He could barely believe that just a little while ago he had been laughing at its ridiculous name. Now he was just trying to get out alive.

His gut churned and his throat tightened as he peered through the the foliage. It was quiet, too quiet. Something felt wrong. Another careful examination of his surroundings revealed nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't like it. He carefully backed up and sought another path while watching the ominous area ahead of him.

Greenery thirty feet in front of him shifted contrary to the slight breeze then changed color to grey-white scales. _What idiot scientist gave the hybrid camouflage genetics?_ The indominus rose to her full height and snarled. His heart skipped a beat and then he was moving as fast as he could away from the indominus. Wood snapped and the earth shook as she charged after him.

He forced his breathing to even out as he sprinted through thick underbrush. He thrust his right arm in front of him to protect his vision as he broke through the vegetation. He could hear the indominus snarling as he wove between massive trees. He watched his distance to the cement barrier out of his peripherals making sure he didn't get pinned down.

At first he barely registered as sounds of pursuit shifted direction slightly. A growl to his right snapped his head to the side. He stumbled over some poor footing but managed to keep going as he caught sight of the hybrid running parallel to him. She was focused on something ahead of him. She was herding him somewhere.

For one panicked moment he couldn't think and he skidded to a complete stop. He needed to get away from the wall. The indominus snarled as she began stopping her forward movement. He didn't have time to think. Grimacing slightly, Owen raced past the indominus and away from the paddock's cement fence.

She was still turning around as he raced by her. Large teeth snapped at him as she lunged after him. Her rancid breath filled his nostrils and a surge of panic fueled his aching legs. He didn't look back as he sprinted away from the fence. A roar blasted his ears, leaving them ringing as he dashed headlong through the indominus's territory.

* * *

Claire was having a horrible day. Three people were dead and she could have prevented it if she had borrowed a radio to call control for the indominus rex's location. The reception wasn't great but it would have worked. But instead she had panicked when the indominus hadn't shown up on the thermal sensors and rushed to where she had cell reception before calling.

She could feel a headache building as she stood in the control room. People were working to keep guests safe and the park running smoothly. The tragedy had already been pushed to the background.

An inspection into the incident along with new safety protocols were being arranged. Even so, the incident would likely never make the news headlines due to company employment contracts that everyone who died had signed. It was a job hazard at Jurassic World, one that she hadn't had to deal with prior to this disaster.

She wasn't needed in the control room right now but she didn't feel up to her meetings to complete Verizon's sponsorship of the indominus rex. Not right after it had eaten people Claire had just seen alive and well. She was the one who had asked Owen, Mr. Grady, to consult on the security of the paddock. Left him there when it seemed the hybrid had escaped. _Left him to die_.

"Ms. Dearing, there's a call from Security for you… regarding your nephews." Vivian's gentle voice interrupted her tumultuous thoughts.

She had Vivian send the call through to her cell phone. And then had to confirm that Zachary and Gray are in fact her nephews. Turns out they had gallivanted out of bounds through a broken gate. Drums began to play more intensely in her skull. Anger at her nephews for putting themselves in danger and gratitude that they were safe played havoc on her emotions. She'd deal with them later.

"I understand that they were in the zone 5. Just bring them back to the resort and I'll take care of it." Ending the call with security she immediately called Zara.

It doesn't take long to get her assistant up to date; both with her nephews' recklessness and the day's incident. She left Zara in charge of arranging a memorial service to be held for Jurassic World employees. They would take some time to honor the deceased. Their families would have to be notified. Their caskets would be empty. Her chest ached and her eyes burned with unshed tears.

Head throbbing she then called up Mr. Masrani to request the rest of the day and tomorrow off. She would be available in the event of an emergency though. His voice cracked as he agreed. She couldn't even imagine what he was feeling in the aftermath. Lowery had informed her of his executive decision to keep the gate closed, locking the people in with the indominus rex. She couldn't help but wish that they had been given the opportunity to get out.

"Claire, your nephews are downstairs." Claire started as Lowery's voice broke her daydream where they had all managed to escape unscathed. She must have zoned out for a little while.

She forced a smile as she thanked Lowery.

Now to deal with her nephews.

* * *

They sent him a text.

His phone had beeped and then the world had fallen out from under him. When he became aware of the world again he realized that he had miraculously managed to stay on his feet. That and Vic Hoskins was looking at him expectantly. Must have missed his question.

Barry ignored Hoskins, instead looking at the Velociraptors. _What would happen to the program without Owen here?_ He had no say in the handling of the raptors. He could only offer advice and assist in their care; one of the woes of being the assistant. _Would he even remain on staff without Owen?_

Barry sure hoped so for the raptors' sake. They were used to him handling them. It was going to be hard on them to lose their alpha. They had never gone more than 12 hours without Owen around before. It was Owen who had imprinted on the raptors and they were still very much wild. _Would InGen choose to destroy them if they refused a new trainer?_

Blue snorted and shifted in her restraints. Her eyes were focused on his every move and he found himself wondering what she was thinking. _Blue_ _\- Owen's best girl, the most stubborn raptor of them all_. His heart ached for her.

Movement caught his eye as Hoskins left the holding area; phone plastered to his ear. Overhearing just a fragment of the conversation let him know that it wouldn't be long now before decisions that would affect the raptors' future would be made.

* * *

The game had gone on for hours. Fast Prey liked weaving through the trees, forcing her to slow down or potentially injure herself by colliding with them. Her side still throbbed occasionally from the tree she had knocked over earlier.

While Fast Prey had an easier time in the trees, she made sure that she kept the game away from the small-wall-that-opens. She did her best to drive it close to the far wall of her territory. It was nimble and would change directions in the blink of an eye. It continued to elude her. Fast Prey was fun to hunt.

If only she could always have fun prey creatures to hunt. Like Fast Prey.

The sun had disappeared from the sky a while ago. Her muscles ached slightly from the physical excursion. Fast Prey was stumbling frequently, struggling to see obstacles in the dark. Its pace had slowed drastically from when the game had started. Fast prey tripped and fell face down just a little ahead of her.

Lunging forward, she caught Fast Prey carefully under her right hand, claws strategically placed around it as she pinned Fast Prey to the ground. She had broken Plump Prey accidentally, she would have to be very careful or she would break it too. She wasn't ready to be done with Fast Prey yet. It had alleviated hours of boredom.

Fast Prey had proven to be agile and smart, using the terrain to its advantage. However, she had bested Fast Prey in the end. Now caught alive, she could release Fast Prey tomorrow when she felt like playing some more. She could always eat Fast Prey after the game became dull.

Inhaling, she caught a strange scent from Fast Prey. Sniffing again, she concentrated on the odd feeling of familiarity and happiness that scent brought to her. Pack. He smelled just ever so slightly like a pack – a strange concept that she couldn't quite grasp completely, like a void that she should know and understand but didn't. Fast Prey was a very interesting creature requiring further investigation. But she was tired and ready to go to her nest to sleep.

The trick would be keeping Fast Prey from escaping while she slept. Dead prey or slow prey is boring, so intentionally injuring it was out. She gently closed her hand around Fast Prey, its struggles a massage to her massive clawed appendage as she picked it up. Fast Prey - best thing _ever_. It had no fangs and no claws; it presented no danger to her.

She reentered the wooded area and headed to her nest. The trees completely covered and sheltered her here. Settling into the soft concave nest she curled around Fast Prey. It continued to squirm withing her grasp but was incapable of escaping her grip. Its warmth seeped into her bosom as she held it close. Sleep was quick to greet her.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and for those who have reviewed. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Please let me know what you like and what you don't. Again if you see any errors please let me know – this is all self-edited.


	3. Chapter 3

Jurassic World Quote: "Animals raised in isolation aren't always the most functional." – Owen Grady

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

He couldn't breathe properly. The indominus rex's grip fluctuated between tight to nearly bone crushing. His left armed was pinned to his side. He had no leverage but he refused to go down without a fight. Hours of being pursued by the hybrid had all but drained his fear of death. He was exhausted.

But not breathing _hurt_. A lot.

Legs kicked uselessly and his right arm pounded against the large hand. He could feel his bones aching at the pressure. It wouldn't take much before his ribs caved. Relief flooded him as the grip relaxed slightly. He gulped in air now that his lungs had room to expand.

Distantly, he noted that the indominus shifted from walking to lying down. As he regained his breath he took stock of his current situation. He was trapped in the predator's grasp. It was too dark to see anything. He was exhausted, hungry and thirsty. And no matter how much he struggled, he was not getting any closer to freedom. Not that he stopped trying.

Eventually he became too tired to continue struggling.

As the night hours slowly passed, Owen fought to stay awake as his body crashed from the adrenaline high he had maintained all afternoon. The indominus was sleeping, holding him close like it was a young child with a favorite new toy. It was not a happy thought or a comfortable position. He had to shift occasionally as his legs and his head hung awkwardly. Occasionally the indominus's grip would tighten. He had learned by chance that massaging the appendage wrapped around him with his free hand would loosen the grip, but only slightly. Not enough for him to wiggle loose.

His thoughts drifted. _Why hadn't Asset Containment shown up to rescue him yet?_ He had been chased for hours; ACU should have been on site a long time ago to get him out. But they'd never shown. There had been no sign that anyone even knew he was in the paddock. _Which was ridiculous… unless they think I'm already dead?_ In which case, there would be no rescue attempts. He would have to save himself.

There were two ways to get out of the paddock that he knew of. The gate which not even Nick, the supervisor of the indominus rex's control room, had been able to open. Or the door they'd entered through. The door seemed to be his only option. His stomach dropped and he groaned as he remember entering the paddock and the security on the door. A card reader with a security code had been required to enter the enclosure. It was probable that a card and code were also needed to exit the paddock.

He had been too busy running from the indominus to even contemplate whether or not he would need security clearance to get out of the paddock earlier, but now that he was thinking about it… he would be more shocked if there was no security on the exit. The indominus hadn't always been too big for a door. _I'm doomed._

After more hours of forced wakefulness his eyes drifted closed. He jerked awake as night's darkness dissipated with the onset of day. In the dawning light Owen could now see that he was tucked up to the predator's underside. The rest of the massive hybrid lay curled around him. It would have just been his luck to have gotten out of the indominus's grip to walk right into its jaws. It appeared that no matter where he looked, scaly flesh surrounded him.

His heart beat loudly as the indominus began to stir. It probably wouldn't be long now before he was gobbled up as breakfast. Exhaustion mixed with curiosity and the inability to escape, compelled him to gently rub his free hand along the indominus rex's scaly flesh just below her throat. The skin was warm, rough and began to vibrate as the predator gave a soft croon.

Encouraged by her reaction, Owen began to massage her throat, what he could reach of it anyway. If he could get her to see him in a positive light perhaps he'd have a chance at surviving. It was slim, but better than nothing. Right now it was his only hope at surviving the mess he was stuck in.

A loud groan reverberated through the air as the indominus shifted. Her head moved until she was peering at him with one eye, observing him. "Easy girl, just take it easy." He murmured gently, trying to calm himself just as much as the enormous predator. A mantra of soothing words flowed from him as he fought off panic.

She chuffed, it sounded a lot like an inquisitive velociraptor. He continued to rub her and speak calmly. Slowly the indominus relaxed its fingers until Owen was able to climb down. Muscles protested the movement, stiff from being held awkwardly. Uncertainty kept him rubbing along her throat, further up now that he could reach it, where the raptors really loved to be massaged.

The indominus rex gave a deep throated gurgle. The ground vibrated under Owen's feet and his adrenaline spiked. He forced himself to remain calm. Though he was on his own feet now, the hybrid remained curled around him.

The indominus continued to talk. A smattering of clicks, chirps, barks and trills. All quite loud when experienced up close and sounded more like his raptors than he cared to think about. _Genetic hybrid, with most of her genome classified. And velociraptors are very social creatures_. He made sure to offer calming platitudes in reply. She shifted, exposing her jowls to Owen's hands. He obliged her with a massage there.

The sun slowly rose in the sky as Owen continued to rub the indominus. Ever few minutes she would carefully shift, her rough skin brushing against his hands as she repositioned, until he was massaging where she desired. His arms shook as pain from exertion spiked through them. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation pulled at him. He grit his teeth and pushed through it.

He could hear the crane creaking overhead as it moved. The coppery tang of blood drifted past. The indominus shifted slightly and he found himself rubbing along the crest of her neck. Her eyes drifted shut and she showed no interest in getting up. Probably not a good sign, she could have developed a taste for warm and screaming.

The hours moved slowly and his arms moved methodically. The massage he had started with was more a gentle caress as his arms complained from overuse.

It happened so fast that it took Owen a moment to figure out how he ended up face down in the dirt. One moment he was stroking the indominus's snout and the next he was being pressed into the ground, a heavy weight pushing down on his back. His lungs struggled to expand as he was slowly crushed. Blinking dazedly, he could see the indominus's claws digging into the ground around him. Her breath was blowing against his neck. His hair stood on end as he waited for death, eyes closed tightly in dread.

Moments stretched as her putrid breath continued to blow across him rhythmically. His heart raced and his lungs could barely expand as he remained painfully pinned to the ground. Seconds slowly turned into minutes as he struggled futilely within the predator's grasp.

Finally, the weight across his back lifted. His lungs sucked in air and he choked on the stench. He could still feel the air move around him as the hybrid breathed. Something hard and wet pressed into his back. Warm liquid seeped through the fabric of his shirt. His heart beat quick and hard as he waited for death. Nothing happened. The indominus raised its head and threatening teeth away from him before giving a soft chuff.

Forcing his eyes open and calming his racing heart, Owen found his eyes drifting up to the massive predator. It stood on its hind feet, head tilted as it examined him. It trilled a question. Exhaustion and fading adrenaline had him answering sarcastically as he stood up, "Great, I'm absolutely _wonderful_. I _love_ being _crushed_."

The indominus gave a satisfied bark before she suddenly shoved him with her muzzle. He barely stayed on his feet. Another bark was followed by another shove. He had an easier time keeping his balance this time. The behavior was odd but he knew he had seen it before when he studied velociraptor behavior. She was treating him like a young hatchling.

He got moving before she knocked him down or decided to eat him. She continued to hover over him as he moved, correcting his direction occasionally. Sometimes she blocked the 'wrong' way with her head and other times he received a shove in the 'right' direction. He was tempted to make a run for it, but he didn't stand a chance of escaping right now.

And then they reached a small pool of water fed by a small, likely artificial, stream. The indominus lowered her head before gulping down gallons of water. One eye keeping a close watch on his movements. His own thirst demanded attention and he found himself cupping water from the stream in his hands to drink. Maybe not the most sanitary, but it tasted wonderful. After satisfying his thirst he tossed water over his face shoulders. Washing away some of the sweat and saliva that covered him.

* * *

She had woken up to Fast Prey rubbing her throat. The strange sensation was nice, soothing. It pulled at her, filling a void that she hadn't realized existed. _This… maybe this was pack?_ But she felt like pack and prey were fundamentally different.

She was confused, was Fast Prey pack or prey? She slowly dropped it and observed what actions it would take. Maybe then she could figure out this conundrum. Gentle hands continued their comforting motions, filling her with pleasure. _Probably pack._

But if Fast Prey was pack then Fast _Prey_ was inaccurate. _Fast Prey… or maybe Gentle Hands? Yes, Gentle Hands._ Satisfaction filled her momentarily; she would have to investigate Gentle Hands further to confirm whether or not it really was pack. She shifted slightly to expand where Gentle Hands placed its comforting touch. For now she would enjoy this interaction to its fullest. She proceeded to tell Gentle Hands how nice its caresses are.

The sun continued to rise and Unknown delivered the dead meat. Dead meat wasn't worth getting up for right now. All she wanted now was for Gentle Hands to sooth her aching muscles and affectionately rub her jaw.

It took her body demanding water to get her to move. Carefully she caught and held Gentle Hands down while she stood up. Now was the perfect time try to figure out the scent that made her think pack. Sniffing, she isolated the smell. It confused her, letting go with her hand she continued to process the scent. It felt familiar yet brought unfamiliar concepts to her mind. Pack. Family. Group. Unity. Bond. Hierarchy.

She latched onto that last thought. She would need to establish the hierarchy of their small pack. She was the superior pack member and they were in her territory. It was her right to be above Gentle Hands. But it was difficult to communicate; she couldn't understand the strange noises Gentle Hands made. Wasn't sure it understood her.

She was thirsty but also wanted to begin solidifying the pack ranks. Teach Gentle Hands to follow her commands. She would need to keep it simple. The other prey - _pack?_ \- creatures like Gentle Hands had never shown any capacity to understand her. Maybe they were mostly dumb pack animals in need of clear guidance.

She craved her own pack, craved companionship, and Gentle Hands was her only option for a pack member right now. Maybe she could lure more in and establish a larger pack if Gentle Hands was teachable. She could always eat them if they refused her leadership. The very thought of fresh kills wet her mouth in pleasure. She would need to lure more creatures in to hunt, if nothing else.

She moved to give Gentle Hands room to rise. It in turn began to watch her, but wasn't rising. _Was it injured?_ She trilled encouragement at it. It got up! It also barked a response. _Acknowledging her superiority?_

It didn't take much encouragement to get it moving towards the water. Although Gentle Hands didn't know the way and she had to correct its path occasionally. Finally they reached the waterhole and she took a deep drink. Gentle Hands caught on quick and also took the time to get a drink. She was no longer alone.

Gentle Hands was her pack now and _nothing_ was going to take it away from her _ever._

* * *

Leader had yet to show up today. He was _very_ late and Blue was going to give him a piece of her mind once he got here. She would show him that tardiness is bad leadership. He would have to work extra hard to get the pack to follow today.

 _Where was he?_

Delta and Charlie were play-fighting and Echo was looking for potential weaknesses in the walls. _Again_. Blue was bored. And worried.

Leader hadn't shown up last night to send her off to bed either. An agitated Barry had given them their evening meal and rubbed them down for the night. Blue permitted Barry's caress but it should have been Leader's hands soothing her. Leader's gentle voice soothing her into pleasant dreams. Barry was at the bottom of the pack and provided no safety.

At least Blue had kept Bad Smell from touching her with a warning growl. Bad Small had been around all day talking to Barry. Leader didn't like Bad Smell and would usually keep him and his pack away from their pack. _Was Leader unaware of Bad Smell's presence?_

Barry had fed them their morning meal and then left them to their own devices. He was talking with Bad Smell again. Barry sounded angry and looked agitated but deferred to Bad Smell. _Was Barry also worried about Leader's disappearance? Had Bad Smell bested Leader in a fight for dominance? Chased Leader away?  
_

Anxiety overcame her and she began pacing, keeping a careful eye on Barry and Bad Smell. Leader should have been here already. Leader normally fed them the morning meal. Leader kept her life interesting. He gave her challenges. He required her respect and respected her in return. He trusted her to keep the pack in line. He belonged with the pack. He is the pack alpha. She would accept no other alpha.

Yesterday she had challenged his leadership. He had stopped the pack from attacking the trespasser. _Was this a punishment for her defiance? Did Leader no longer trust her to follow him?_ Blue disliked difficult situations like this. If he showed up she could look Leader in the eye and judge the situation to the best of her ability from there. It was impossible to figure Leader out sometimes. She didn't know if she should punish Leader for being late or beg his forgiveness so he would come back and stay.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to all the wonderful reviews. Please let me know if there are any errors or concerns that should be addressed. Feedback is always appreciated, Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4

Jurassic World quote: "So, she needs a friend. We should schedule play-dates? That sort of thing?" – Claire Dearing

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

Thirst quenched, she was ready for the day.

Nudging Gentle Hands with her snout, she guided it to the smelly place. She relieved herself and Gentle Hands followed her example. Her focus turned to other problems.

She wanted to lure more pack-prey creatures into her home. She wanted to hunt something. It was tempting to chase Gentle Hands again but she wanted to build up a pack, not terrify or consume it. She would need to figure out a way to get more creatures to enter her domain.

Her eyes lifted and she saw light shimmer off of one of Unknown's odd eyes. Unknown liked spying on her, perhaps she could get it to react if she destroyed its vision. Maybe even send in the biting prey. They could be fun to hunt and maybe she could add one to her pack. There were many odd eyes around her territory, all of them above her reach. She would just have to figure out a way to reach them.

She couldn't take Gentle Hands with her. Some of the odd eyes were near the small-wall-that-opens. It might attempt to escape while she was distracted destroying Unknown's eyes. She would need to get it to stay put, preferably at her nest, while she took care of Unknown's odd eyes. It was a slow creature, it would take time for it to realize it belongs to her pack now.

She barked _go to nest_ to Gentle Hands before giving it a shove with her snout. It stumbled briefly before moving in the direction she had pushed it. She continued to encourage it by barking _go to nest_ occasionally. Gentle Hands was smart and returned to her nest without physical guidance. She snapped at it to _stop_ at the nest and blocked it with her hand. Hopefully it would learn her commands quickly too.

A short snarl brought Gentle Hands' focus on her. Now to teach Gentle Hands the meaning of _stay put_. This would be more difficult than teaching it to go to the nest. She chuffed _stay put_ at Gentle Hands. It looked at her and moved a little further from her. _Wrong_.

A quick swipe of her hand stopped Gentle Hands from escaping. She moved it back to the spot it had been in previously before releasing it. She repeated her command to _stay put_. Its eyes were narrowed at her and it was standing tall and stiff. It was in a rebellious mood. Gentle Hands was being difficult and challenging her authority. She couldn't leave it loose; it would probably wander off and try to escape again. She needed to reinforce her status as top of the pack. She didn't want to waste the time right now fighting with it without some communication established.

She would need to make a pen to keep Gentle Hands in until it learned to listen to her.

Thick vegetation surrounded them, but it would not contain Gentle Hands. She had no way to build walls like the ones keeping her in. And that would take too long even if she could. She could hear prey creatures continuing to build up the walls around her small territory and they had been at it for a long time. So if she couldn't build up maybe she could build down? She could dig a hole in the ground to keep Gentle Hands from wandering off.

A quick examination of the area and she picked out a good spot. A glance at Gentle Hands showed it to be watching her avidly. Her sharp claws dug into the soft soil. A flick of her hand and the dirt was tossed out of her way. Dirt flew as she dug vigorously. The warmth of Gentle Hands moved and she only had a second to catch it before Gentle Hands would have made an escape into the trees.

It struggled briefly in her hand while snarling at her. It was _challenging_ her. _Foolish_ Gentle Hands, it could never win against her might. It needed to be put in its place and she needed to finish its pen. It was inconvenient to hold it; she wanted both hands for digging.

Snarling, she transferred Gentle Hands from her hand to her mouth. That should humble it and contain it for now.

Hands freed up, her claws again scooped the soft soil out of the hole deepening it. A sharp pain shot through her mouth and she spat Gentle Hands out in shock. She could taste her own blood flowing from a fresh cut. Her tongue pressed against it, reducing the flow of blood.

Gentle Hands was groaning where it lay on the ground. The flash of silver in its hand caught her eye. Gentle Hands, not so _gentle_ apparently, had a sharp hidden claw.

Confused thoughts raced through her. Anger at its attack. Pride at its ability to fight. Kill it. Keep it. She had lived alone just fine her whole life; she didn't need it. Having a pack filled a void in her; she needed it. Her muscles quivered with indecision and a low growl vibrated her throat.

Movement attracted her eye. Gentle Hands, no… Rebel, was struggling to get back up. Its eyes were wide, focused on her. It stood with all its weight on one leg. Slowly it took a limping step backwards and lowered its torso slightly; talking to her in a gentle tone. Submitting to her.

Snorting, she decided to keep Rebel. Hopefully its new name would remind her to watch out for defiant behavior. Rebel was injured and would need time to heal. At least it did not seem to be too serious. Rebel had used the injured leg when it submitted to her. And even though it submitted to her she still needed to teach it to follow her commands. A holding pen for Rebel still needs to be made.

She kept an eye on Rebel as she began digging again. The steep walls of the hole collapsed slightly as she dug deeper. Scooping the loose soil out she decided it should be deep enough. Rebel shouldn't be able to climb out of it.

Rebel's holding pen was done. Standing upright she contemplated the best way to get Rebel in the pen. She could no longer see its claw. She was surprised it hadn't used its claw when she had caught it last night. Perhaps it was a last resort defense. In which case she shouldn't hold it in her mouth again, it probably thought she was eating it and struck out.

She gave an encouraging croon to Rebel as she approached and reached out with her hand. It stiffened and the white of its eyes shone brightly. But it didn't move away and only flinched slightly as her hand slowly closed around it. She continued to croon softly to Rebel as she moved it to the hole she'd dug. Carefully, she lowered Rebel into the pen and released it.

She observed Rebel for a moment. Rebel watched her in return. It was still wide eyed and stiff. It wasn't going anywhere.

Satisfied, she shifted her focus to her next task - destroying the odd eyes of Unknown. The eyes were located on the tall wall that bordered her territory and high up on the trunk of a massive tree in the center. The ground shook under her feet as she quickly moved to the nearest wall.

It didn't take her long to find one of the odd eyes. Its black block form was too high for her to reach with tooth or claw. She grabbed a large branch off a nearby tree to extend her reach. The eye crumbled and fell when the branch smashed into it. Following the walls she sought out the rest of the eyes. A quick swipe of her branch and eye after eye fell in pieces. Some eyes were shaped differently than others, all were easily destroyed.

For good measure she destroyed the odd devises next to the small-wall-that-opens and the suspicious wall. She finished with the destruction of the odd eyes in the center of her territory. If scratching up a wall got her three prey-pack creatures, this destruction should bring in more.

Pleased with her work, she turned to return to her nest. A loud groan sounded overhead reminding her that she had missed morning meal. A strange call filled the air and she focused on the lines above her. Unknown was sending _live_ meat to her. Her muscles tingled in anticipation of the hunt. Unknown caught on quick. Unfortunately it didn't appear to be prey-pack creatures.

Moving into the cover of the vegetation, she waited for her meal. A strange creature, larger than Rebel, and smelling similar to dead meat was slowly lowered into her home. Its hard feet found purchase on the ground and the lines released it with a click. It moved slowly, eating the grass at its feet carelessly.

Opening her jaw wide, she gave a full-throat roar. The live dead-meat animal startled and took off. The chase was on. It ran with an awkward looking gait on all four legs. It made no attempts to lose her in the trees, simply running the path of least resistance. In only a few strides she caught the animal in her teeth. Warm blood slid down her throat as she crushed it. Meat was torn away from the carcass and gobbled down. It was the best tasting meal she had ever had, even better than the prey creatures she ate yesterday. All too soon there was nothing left.

Her life had never been better. She was able to hunt two days in a row. She had her own pack. Companionship. If only the big prey creature had led her on a better chase. Maybe all prey creatures are easy kills. Only one prey-pack creature had been difficult to catch yesterday and it's pack.

Stomach full of warm fresh meat, she went to her waterhole to refresh herself. After quick perimeter check of her territory and relieving herself she returned to her nest and looked into Rebel's pen.

Rebel sat rigidly at the bottom. Its bright eyes immediately focused on her. Observing her.

Slipping one hand carefully into its pen she scooped Rebel up and brought it out. Now she could begin working on teaching it. With her stomach full of fresh warm meat all she really wanted to do was relax. Her muscles still ached from chasing Rebel yesterday.

Placing Rebel on the ground she barked _go to nest_ at it and directed it towards her nest at the other side of the small clearing. She didn't even have to give it a push this time. Rebel moved at a limping gait towards her nest chattering in a low tone. She snapped at Rebel to _stop_ when it reached the nest. It continued to move forward. Snapping _stop_ again she blocked its path with her claws. This time it stopped and quietly turned to look at her in the eye.

Snarling _stay put_ , she kept a close eye on it as she lay down next to Rebel. Settling in she curled herself around it.

Content with her position, she crooned _rub me_ to Rebel. It was still standing stiffly. She crooned _rub me_ again and gently pushed it closer to her chest with her tail. This time Rebel stretched out its hand and caressed her gently. She encouraged it with another crooned _rub me_. It didn't take long before Rebel was massaging her.

Her throat vibrated with joy.

* * *

The indominus's handlers were extra nervous being near her paddock. Mr. Masrani had spoken with them; two quit and the others had gone back to work. Technicians had installed new tracking equipment to the paddock's control room. The paddock supervisor could watch the indominus's location by her tracking implant.

Vivian was glad that the indominus rex's paddock is on the other side of the island. It was hard enough keeping a close eye on the movements of the predator. Management was concerned that yesterday's excitement might have over stimulated the hybrid. Everyone was nervous about the indominus, in time the tragedy would be forgotten and it would be up to the paddock supervisor to keep an eye on the indominus. Until then, she was monitoring the hybrid on top of her regular duties.

The current paddock supervisor had called this morning saying that the indominus rex wasn't moving from her bed and was ignoring the steer side they had dropped in her paddock. There was some concern that the equipment she had ingested on the people may have been giving her indigestion.

That or she wanted _live_ food. To _hunt_.

As afternoon rolled in and she wasn't moving they had received permission to deposit a live steer into her paddock. The handlers were preparing a harness right now to attach the animal to the crane.

They were informed that the indominus had finally gotten up about an hour ago. She had gone to her water trough before returning to her sleep spot. It would still take them a couple hours before they could send in the live steer. It would be enough food for at least two days technically.

Depending on her behavior, they may send in a goat tomorrow. The park has more live goats than cattle on hand. If she wants to hunt, a couple fat goats a day might be easiest on park resources. They may even work it into a routine like with Rexy.

Vivian secretly wondered if the indominus isn't going for the side of meat simply because she isn't hungry. Apparently she is supposed to eat an average of 500 pounds of food a day, although her handlers liked to keep her on the fat side. She ate more than 500 pounds of meat yesterday. Not that anyone was saying that out loud. No one wanted to refer to the men as the indominus's meal, even if they had been eaten. If they didn't say anything it would almost be like it never happened.

Not that Vivian cared to remember either. But it _had_ happened. People _had_ died horrifically.

Static on one of the side screens caught her attention. Her heart pounded when she saw the malfunction was happening in the indominus rex's paddock.

"Paddock 11, this is Control. We're showing static on cam 5. What's your status?" Her fingers twitched as she waited impatiently for the paddock supervisor to reply. She hoped it was only a technical glitch and that everything at the paddock was working properly.

"Control, this is Paddock 11. We're also showing static on cam 5."

Dread filled her. The indominus rex had haunted her sleep last night. She did _not_ want any of her fears to become reality.

"Control, Paddock 11 here. We just saw the indominus on cam 4 wielding a large branch. She used it to break the camera. From her tracker it appears that the indominus is slowly making her way towards cam 3 now. Please advise." The paddock supervisor's voice quavered.

 _What am I supposed to say? How do you stop a carnivorous dinosaur on a rampage? They're the_ supposed _experts on the hybrid and in charge of her care and handling._

Breathing deeply, she alerted Asset Containment of the issue.

"Paddock 11, Asset Containment is on the way to assess the situation. ETA 15 minutes. Keep an eye on her tracker; if it appears that she is attempting to break out of her paddock please send notification to ACU immediately."

"Copy that. We will keep you updated."

The genetic hybrid was a nightmare.

By the end of the hour the indominus rex had not only destroyed all of the video cameras inside the paddock, she had also destroyed all of the infared cameras and the door controls.

Management wasn't too concerned about the infared cameras as no one had been using them since yesterday's incident. Too unreliable. Not much they could do about the door controls inside her paddock right now either, no one would willingly enter her paddock to do repairs.

Asset Containment wanted new video cameras installed… out of the branch toting indominus's reach. Unfortunately, that would take time. And a lot of incentive as no worker wanted to be anywhere near the inside walls of her paddock. ACU was also consulting with the veterinarian about potentially sedating the hybrid while the repairs were implemented.

At least her destruction didn't affect the new tracking equipment.

* * *

Vic Hoskins was making his life difficult. It was hard to imagine working with the girls without Owen. Even worse that Vic expects them to transition to new leadership quickly and easily. As if they could be ready for a _field test_ after a couple of days with Hoskins' new trainer.

A trainer that Hoskins had ready to call in, apparently, who would be arriving late this afternoon. _I wonder if Hoskins had come looking for an excuse to replace Owen when he visited yesterday._

Until he arrived they were to refrain from giving the girls any food or treats. The trainer wants them hungry when he meets them. Hoskins was also hinting that this _Lucas Schillinger_ might have his own assistant. Barry was to have all of the reports on the velociraptors' progress available for him by tonight. Reports that had never been written.

Early this afternoon, Barry had dragged papers and writing utensils onto the catwalk so he could observe the raptors while writing reports. Blue had been extra ornery today.

A snarl sounded below as Blue lunged at Charlie.

"Blue!" Barry's voice snapped Blue's attention away from Charlie. She growled up at him before returning her focus to her surroundings. Charlie had slipped away while she had been distracted, hiding behind Delta.

Hissing, Blue stalked into the vegetation.

Barry returned his focus to the paperwork before him. He only had a few hours to get this done. Time seemed to fly. He had scolded Blue a few more times. The last time she had ignored him completely. Echo was keeping her distance now.

A vehicle could be heard approaching the paddock. Barry glanced at the time. Shocked at having lost track of time he hurriedly gathered up the papers, careful not to lose any to the raptors below, and rushed back to the office. He was crossing the road to the office when the jeep pulled up.

A few seconds later and he was tossing handwritten reports onto the already messy desk before rushing back outside to meet the new trainer. Hoskins was leading a tall man towards the catwalks. He caught up to them on the catwalks; Hoskins was doing his typical nature made weapons speech.

Hoskins spotted him approaching and quickly introduced them. He was correct; this was Lucas Schillinger, Hoskins's new trainer. Barry found himself pointing out each raptor and introducing them to Schillinger. He made no comments and asked no questions. His face was stony and he showed very little interest in what Barry was saying.

Introductions complete, they headed back down to bring in the raptors for their evening checkup and meal. Delta, Echo and Charlie all entered the stalls without a fuss. Blue stayed in the paddock ignoring Barry and the other handlers. Normally Barry could get her to stall up without Owen around just fine, but she apparently wasn't done throwing her tantrum.

Schillinger decided that if she wasn't hungry enough to stall up then she could go without her dinner, but it she changed her mind a morsel was left in her stall. She just had to go in to get it.. The evening watch would be warned to watch Blue's actions through the night since she was loose in the paddock. They would see if she would behave in the morning for breakfast.

Dread filled Barry as he observed Schillinger and Hoskins. Both were watching Blue with narrow eyes and angry faces.

* * *

He was covered in _really_ nasty smelling saliva. Breathing was nauseating and his vision was doing something wonky. Lots of black spots and spinning colors. Groaning, he tried to get his body to cooperate. Lying prone on the ground would be a quick way to die.

The indominus had almost eaten him. Being tossed from between her teeth to the hard ground hurt, but he was still alive. His hands clenched and he was relieved to feel his knife. He hadn't dropped it.

His vision finally cleared.

A low growl broke through the small clearing. The indominus was glaring at him; her lips pulled up and back to further expose her mismatched teeth. Her body posture reminiscent of Blue when she was asserting her dominance.

Maybe if he imitated a submitting raptor's body language she would let him live. Doubtful, but worth a try. He slowly rose to his feet… make that foot. His left ankle was definitely sprained. He could still put a little bit of weight on it. But there was no way he could outrun the indominus rex now. Hobbling backwards a step, he lowered his upper body in a sort of bow while keeping eye contact.

"Easy girl, just take it easy. I'm not gonna fight you." _Calm_. He needed to be calm and submissive. His heart raced and sweat mixed with saliva. He felt lightheaded as he watched the hybrid growl. Her eyes narrowed and her lower jaw dropped threateningly before she slowly relaxed. _Did it work?_

He slowly stood upright as the indominus turned away from him and resumed digging. She still glanced at him occasionally. Running hadn't worked when he had two good legs, it definitely wouldn't work now.

The dirt flew through the air as she worked. _What is she doing?_ She almost looked like a dog digging away in soft soil. The hole she was digging was large and getting deeper. Her massive arms went down quite a ways before she stood upright, apparently satisfied. She then turned her attention completely back to him.

She took one step, head cocking to the side as reached for him. He was completely at the mercy of a genetic hybrid dinosaur. Who knows how mixed up her instincts could be. He would just have to hope for the best. She hadn't actually eaten him yet. _Just put me in her mouth… probably shouldn't think about it too much_.

Her extended hand was behind him now. He had no where to go. His eyes squeezed shut and his lungs froze. He couldn't watch. His hair stood on end as her claws scraped against his vest. Her hand slowly closed around him and then his feet were off the ground.

His lungs felt ready to burst. His eyes opened wide as he gasped for air. The indominus was slowly lowering him into the hole she had just dug. She dropped him the last few feet. He fell into a roll to absorb the impact, pulling his left leg in to help protect the sprained ankle.

He watched her as she peered down at him. And then she left. Loose soil fell on him from the impact of her footsteps. Shaking it off; he took stock of his current situation.

The walls were at least ten feet high and nearly straight up. An attempt to climb up the wall proved fruitless. The soil gave under his hands and dirt fell on him from above. All he'd likely accomplish would be burying himself alive.

A second look at his confinement knocked him off his feet. _A cage._ She had dug and put him in a cage!

His heart pounded against his breastbone. He let his head drop between his knees and he focused on his breathing. Panic wouldn't help him. The pain in his chest eased as he calmed his racing heart. Okay. So she wasn't acting like _any_ dinosaur he knew of. _I'm still alive and she seems to want to keep me that way._

The thought wasn't as reassuring as he'd like though. She had nearly killed him without trying many times already. He was trapped and he couldn't do anything about it. Heaving a sigh, he let himself lean back against the dirt wall.

With nothing to do, exhaustion left him struggling to stay awake. His eyes were heavy and his mind refused to focus. Time slowly passed and he kept watch until his eyes would no longer stay open.

The ground shook beneath him, startling him awake.

Looking up, the indominus rex appeared. Her head tilted to look at him. And then her clawed hand was swooping into the hole with him. He stood up as fast as his injured ankle would let him. And then her hand literally swept him off his feet. He collapsed into her palm as pain shot through his ankle.

She dropped him on the ground and barked at him, her snout pointing towards the other side of the clearing. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized the sound. It was the same one she used when she had directed him back to this clearing. She was _talking_ to him, trying to communicate… maybe even training him.

His throbbing ankle was not up to her _little_ pushes. He got moving to where she was looking. This whole situation was ridiculous and he told the indominus so. She slowly followed him. He had reached a slight dip in the ground when she snarled at him. Maybe he was being too slow? A second snap was immediately followed by her claws darting in front of him. He stopped talking and turned to look at the indominus. Her eyes were narrowed and focused on him.

He was having a staring contest with a predator that could gobble him up with hardly more than a bite. He should be terrified; it took all his strength just to stay on his feet. Summoning up the energy to be scared took too much effort. If she ate him this would all be over. Bile rose in his throat at the thought.

She was snarling at him again. But she didn't seem to be directing him anywhere or about to eat him. She suddenly shifted her weight, slowly sinking closer to the ground until she was actually lying curled around him. _What?_

Her throat vibrated in a soft call as she looked at him. Confused, he continued to watch her. Her throat vibrated with the same call as before. Then her strong tail was against his back and pushing him into her chest. He barely managed to stay upright by throwing out his hands against her body. Again she gave the soft call, her eyes half closed.

He slowly began rubbing her. Her eyes closed completely. Taking that as a positive answer, he began another tedious massage of the indominus rex. The ground vibrated as she purred - or growled, it was hard to tell.

The sun set as once again his arms screamed in agony from overexertion. Exhaustion made his body heavy and he leaned into the indominus as he continued to rub her. His one good leg collapsed under him. His arms were too heavy to move and his eyes refused to stay open. Everything went dark.

* * *

This was not what he had in mind when he had thought about coming to Jurassic World. Aunt Claire had ignored them for most of yesterday. Until they broke the rules. Now she wouldn't let them out of her sight. He wasn't even allowed to have his music right now.

 _It would be disrespectful._

It's not like he knew any of the recently deceased. Nor did he care.

Gray had vanished into the crowd earlier, eager to learn more about the life of the employees of Jurassic World. The living ones, anyway. Probably found someone to rattle random dinosaur facts with.

Being stuck at a memorial service was boring. No one was saying a word about how they died either.

Suddenly Gray reappeared at his side. "Zach. Zach. Zach. You've got to see this." A hand was now pulling on the sleeve of Zach's shirt to drag him along.

"They've got pictures of this one guy. He's surrounded by velociraptors. He was their head trainer, apparently, and he saved this other guy's life the other day. It's a totally awesome picture. He's one of the people who died though; wish I could have met him. That would have been _so_ cool."

He rolled his eyes at Gray's rambling.

They wove through employees reminiscing. Some people were crying while others laughed at funny stories. He couldn't see Aunt Claire, didn't know where in this mess of people she had disappeared to. And then they were surrounded by pictures of the three dead employees.

They had probably been eaten by something. Why else was everyone being so vague about how it had happened.

Some sort of accident, _supposedly_. That's all he got out of Aunt Claire. And it had happened right before she actually took time off to be with them.

Coincidence? Not likely. And she was jumpy, nervous. Whatever had happened, it had scared her. A lot.

Gray was pointing out a photograph of one of the dead guys. Looked like it was a snapshot from a security camera from _inside_ a pen. Four velociraptors surrounded him. It looked like they were preparing to kill him. Guy had guts.

 _Had this been his last moment of life?_

Apparently not. Gray had begun recounting some heroic tale regarding the picture. _No one died in the taking of this picture._ _Heh._

He tuned Gray out and let his thoughts drift to music and girls. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, favorites and follows.


	5. Chapter 5

Jurassic World quote: "What if they decide they wanna be in control?" - Barry

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

Awareness returned to his sluggish mind slowly. His whole body ached. His mouth was dry and his stomach ached. He was _really_ hungry and thirsty. Shifting, pain shot through his left ankle. He was laying against something rough yet warm. It shifted slightly beneath him. And then he remembered where he was.

Owen sat up as fast as he could, teeth clenching as his muscles screamed in agony. In the early morning light he had no problem seeing the massive predator he was half sprawled on. She appeared to be still sleeping, her eyes closed and breaths slow.

Thinking back on yesterday's events, Owen could hardly believe the indominus' actions. _What kind of dinosaur did they cook up in that lab?_ She had kept him close most of the day. _Demanded_ his time, attention and affection. _Caged_ him when she didn't want to watch him.

This… this is the worst hostage situation _ever_. Was it possible to develop Stockholm syndrome with an animal?

His chest tightened at the thought. The need to get out of here as soon as possible nearly overwhelmed him; he had no desire to be the _"damsel" in distress_. Perhaps if he climbed a tall tree near the wall he could escape. After all, he had noticed that many of the trees in this paddock are actually taller than the walls.

Carefully, Owen stood up. He tentatively put weight on his left ankle, testing its strength. Though still somewhat sore, it only gave a slight throb of pain. It could use a good icing, rest, and support; but it would have to wait. The mildly sprained ankle wouldn't kill him, but _staying_ in the paddock of a super predator bent on holding him captive _will_. Eventually.

He carefully eased his way over the indominus' limbs. He forced himself to continue breathing gently, keenly watching for any signs of the indominus waking up. He quietly sighed in relief when he made it out of its curled form unscathed.

Looking around, Owen picked a direction and began walking as quietly as he could. He only knew the way to the water from here. He couldn't remember if he had seen any walls through the thick vegetation at all yesterday so it didn't really matter which direction he went. Fortunately the paddock is relatively small and if he continued in a straight path he would eventually find a wall. He carefully blazed his way through thick brush and plants, pushing through the fatigue weighing him down.

Finally, a reinforced cement wall loomed over him. The thick vegetation had hidden it from his view until he had almost walked into it. It didn't take him long to find a rain tree that appeared to have branches reaching over the wall.

The ground quaked as he reached the base of the tree. Again, everything shook. Ignoring the slight pain from his sprained ankle Owen began to climb as quickly as he could. He had only managed to get about thirty feet up before the indominus appeared below him.

Her roar deafened him momentarily. And then she began tearing into the branches below him, violently shaking the large tree. Branches swayed and Owen held on to his perch desperately. Around him branches began snapping and falling. A clawed hand dug deep into the trunk next to Owen. Startled he backpedaled and lost his balance. He flailed as he fell, but failed to grab another branch.

He landed immediately on abrasive, uneven ground. His body protested the abuse as pain shot through him again. The ground below him shifted.

Gasping, he stiffened as he took in just where he was laying. Dull grey-white spikes surrounded him. Looking "up" he could see massive quills twitching along the powerful neck. The top of her brow ridges flanked where he lay. He was on the indominus rex's head. A deep growl reverberated from underneath him.

Almost without thought he began stroking her brow.

"Easy girl, _easy_." Her growl slowed to a gentle rumble. "That's it, that's good. That's real good. Just take it easy."

Leaning forward a little more he could see the ground below. Too far to jump or fall safely and the tree branches above him were out of his reach. He had been _so_ close to getting out of here before the indominus arrived. So _very_ close. And now he was so _very_ far away from escaping. His chest constricted with the heavy weight of his continued imprisonment.

"I'll take that as a no to getting out of here."

The indominus snorted before backing away from the tree. Owen held on to the large spike above her left brow as she turned around, desperately trying not to fall off. She snorted again, muscles twitching under him. Owen tried his best to keep is feet from brushing the pits along her snout. He held achingly still. A task much easier said than done as the indominus swayed her head as she walked.

The small water feature reflected the sunlight as they neared it.

Jerking her head abruptly, she dislodged Owen from his perch. Yelping, he landed in the water with a splash. His arms struggled to push him above the water. He was surprised to discover he had to swim as he couldn't feel the bottom.

Twisting in the water he watched as the indominus rex lowered her head for a drink. She was watching him; a low growl resonated from her parted jaws. Her crooked teeth were looking rather ominous at the moment as they dipped into the water within arms reach.

He pushed himself back and away from the predator to the other side of the pool of water. It didn't take long before he was able to touch the bottom of the pool as he neared the far shore. The indominus never took her eyes off him but she displayed no further aggression towards him.

Owen pulled himself out of the water. He gently pulled off his boots and poured the excess water out, not that it made much difference. He was thoroughly soaked. He took a moment to examine his injured ankle, pleased to see that there was minimal swelling. There really wasn't much he could do for it right now.

The indominus had finished drinking and was simply observing him now. He did his best to pretend he wasn't bothered by her. Not much he could do to defend himself from her with only a small knife. He walk-hopped over to the stream and quenched his own thirst.

The indominus continued watching him.

Since she wasn't pushing him to get a move on yet, Owen took the opportunity to see if he could find something to eat. He spotted a patch of amaranth growing not far from the stream. He shook seeds out of some of the older plants and ate them raw. Keeping an eye on the indominus, he grabbed his knife out and plucked some of the younger plants out of the patch.

He froze as the indominus twitched; she had shifted to get a better look at what he was doing. When she left him alone he let out the breath he'd been holding and began removing any sharp spines from the plants. Satisfied with his work he plopped a plant in his mouth and ate it. The plants weren't very filling but they were better than nothing.

He spotted some manioc as well, but without any way to boil the rootstock he could poison himself. In fact, not being able to cook really limited what plants he could potentially eat. He would need to find a way out of this cage if he didn't want to starve to death, in the event that he lived long enough to do so.

* * *

Something is wrong, Leader had yet to greet the pack this morning and he had missed yesterday entirely. Barry was extra agitated all yesterday, focused on the thin white crackly stuff while sitting on the sky path. He had also reprimanded Blue; he had no right to do so.

Blue no longer listened to anything he said, even if it meant going without food. She only had one human she listened to and she wouldn't do anything that any other human desired. Her person, her Leader, was missing.

Today the wind was blowing extra hard and somewhat contrary to its usual path. New scents distracted her briefly. And then she smelled him, Leader. His scent had been carried to her on the wind, he couldn't be far. Another scent mingled with his, one she had occasionally caught during times like today… where the wind was contrary and strong.

The smell chilled her blood and made her want to hide while reminding her of pack at the same time. A contradiction. Hazardous. It mingled with Leaders scent.

 _Leader is in danger_.

* * *

Lucas Schillinger woke up angry.

Yesterday he had received transfer orders. Deceptively simple sounding orders. Jurassic World had a position that had opened requiring immediate staffing. Details to be disclosed upon his arrival at Jurassic World.

Move from iNGen Security at Isla Sorna to Isla Nublar, where the dinosaurs are contained? No longer doing search, rescue and apprehend of glory seeking poachers in the territory of super predators. Sounded like a no-brainer.

He had been surprised when he was greeted by Vic Hoskins, Head of iNGen Security Operations. Hoskins had then informed Lucas on just what his new assignment entailed. Training velociraptors. Grown, lethal, and with a firm hierarchy already established. Hoskins had been vague, but Lucas extrapolated what he considered the important information when it comes to velociraptors.

He was familiar with the wild velociraptors of Isla Sorna. They are intelligent, devious and deadly. He had scars from a close encounter with Ruffian's pack. Three men and the poacher they had gone in to retrieve were killed. He still had nightmares of that day.

He could remember meeting Owen Grady a few years ago. He had been surprised that a guy crazy enough to willingly attempt training velociraptors was so level headed. Over the course of the week Grady had spent on the island he had come to respect the young man. That didn't mean Lucas had any desire to work directly with raptors.

Sure, he had trained dogs during his military years. But dogs and raptors are completely different animals. He was out of his element here. He was pretty sure that he had mentioned that to Hoskins on the drive over; and been ignored. Something about Grady already doing the hard part and getting the animals to _follow orders_.

Because _everyone_ knows that animals listen to _anyone_ who gives the proper command – _hah_ – so this should be a _walk in the park_.

If Hoskins wasn't his boss he might have yelled at him about pack dynamics and how it was _extremely unlikely_ that the velociraptors would accept him.

He could turn the position down, walk away from his job if he had to. Better to go through the repercussions of breaking his employment contract than being killed because Hoskins wants to handle velociraptors like highly intelligent canines. Fear of what could happen if he left was all that stopped him.

Hoskins mentioned that Lucas had been iNGen's first choice of replacement and Justin Matthews was their second choice. Lucas had been unfortunate enough to have worked with Matthews a few times. The man was a braggart and disrespectful. His actions had put their unit in danger multiple times; it was likely that it was those reprimands that had kept him as second choice. Matthews would do anything the company asked if he got paid; whether or not it would endanger lives. Unfortunately, Matthews one of the few iNGen employees with animal training experience.

Knowing iNGen is willing to bring Matthews in to work with the velociraptors made him nervous. It would be a disaster and people would die. By the time they had reached the paddock Lucas had been _teeth grinding_ angry. He felt trapped in a very dangerous position. Everything blurred together after he saw the raptors and he had only remembered bits a pieces of what Barry had told him.

He had been too frustrated with Hoskins and the whole situation to focus. Hoskins had gone on a spiel about nature and weapons. Does Hoskins even notice how ridiculous some of the things he says sound? Mother Nature _gave_ us the best weapons millions of years ago? _Really?_ If that was the case shouldn't they still be around? Man's _best friend_ and all that?

It had been his first time talking directly with Hoskins and the whole conversation had been one sided. Hoskins had given orders to withhold the raptors meals for the day, so Lucas could _win_ the raptors affection. Unless these velociraptors are extremely different from what he'd seen of the wild raptors, they could care less where their food comes from as long as they get to eat.

He had fed the three that had come in when Barry had signaled them. It would _hopefully_ give them a positive association with him, if nothing else. He made sure they ate as much as they wanted. Hungry raptors tend to be extra dangerous in his experience. The pack _beta_ (the _alpha_ as far as Lucas was concerned) had refused to listen to Barry, a man she is familiar with calling her into her stall. It wasn't a good sign for this transition.

Lucas could only hope that she would listen to Barry this morning. She knows the morning feeding routine, Barry had mentioned that they always bring the raptors in for meals; a technique to keep a positive association with the stalls. She should be hungry enough to want breakfast and come in even if she ate the morsel they had left in her stall last night. Barry or Lucas would then give her a generous breakfast for good behavior.

If she continued to refuse Barry's commands then, figuratively speaking, the program was _up a creek without a paddle_. Velociraptors follow cues from the pack leader and if the alpha remained unmanageable, then all of the raptors would eventually follow her example. Hoskins had suggested terminating the rogue raptor if it refused to follow orders today as he drove him to the employee housing unit for the night.

Lucas didn't know this pack very well, but the wild packs would seek vengeance when one of their own was killed. Hoskins should know this, iNGen had lost an entire unit a week after they had killed one of Bold Ruler's offspring.

He hoped that the alpha raptor ate what they had left her. He already dreaded his first day as _Head Velociraptor Trainer_ and hungry raptors made him nervous.

* * *

Barry was wide awake, again. His sleep had been sporadic all night.

Nightmares plagued what little sleep he had managed. Owen being dismembered by shadowy monsters that turned into the velociraptors. Others had Hoskins calling the raptors rogue and ordering their termination. Sometimes Barry himself would be in the raptor paddock, slowly being herded to their "kill zone".

With a glance at the clock he got out of bed, it was almost time to be up. _Finally_.

A little later a refreshed, but tired, Barry arrived at the raptor paddock. The night shift handlers greeted him sleepily. They informed him that Blue had paced all night, growling. She did not enter her stall to eat the chunk of meat. He was not looking forward to what today would bring.

Schillinger arrived shortly after Barry. And then Schillinger was feeding Delta, Echo and Charlie while Barry went up to bring Blue in for her breakfast. It didn't matter how much he yelled or cajoled, the only response Blue gave was turning her back to him. After his long night it was hard not to feel overwhelming frustration at Blue's unresponsiveness.

And if his day wasn't bad enough, he could see Schillinger approaching him now. His brows knit together while his eyes were fixated on Blue. He stopped next to Barry without saying a word. It was unsettling.

"When was the last time she ate?" Barry snapped his eyes to Schillinger at the abrupt question. The man was still staring at Blue.

"Yesterday morning. She ate shortly before we were told to hold their food until your arrival." The man snorted in response. Barry did not know what to make of that and decided to wait to see where Schillinger would take this conversation.

"Is this normal behavior for her?"

Barry took a moment to watch Blue pace before answering. "No. She normally is the first one in to get fed. Owen's always been able to get her to come in when she's been agitated, whether or not it's feeding time. She's been getting testy without Owen around to keep her in line. She's doesn't like changes in her routine. But it's not like I can tell her Owen isn't coming back, that he died. Give her time."

Schillinger nodded. "But we need her to eat. Velociraptors are ornery in the first place. Hungry velociraptor are worse. See if you can't at least get something in her. Then do whatever the normal morning routine is for now. I need to go through the training reports. I'll be in the office." And then Schillinger was walking away.

And so Barry tossed down a tender chunk of bloody meat. Blue ignored it.

"Blue!" She was still ignoring him. Ignoring food. This is not good.

Sighing, he had Jerry let the other raptors loose for the day. They dashed into the paddock, immediately fixating on the meat laying there. Delta grabbed it before her sisters could and tore into it. Blue ignored it all.

Barry found himself struggling to get any of the raptors to listen. Delta, Echo and Charlie all watched Blue. Since she was ignoring Barry they followed her lead. Echo and Charlie began a play fight. Tumbling around on the ground while softly nipping one another, each one trying to pin the other.

Huffing a sigh, Barry gave up trying to get any of the raptors to listen for the moment and studied their interactions instead. He enjoyed being able to observe their behavior. Every day Barry tried to learn something new about the girls.

Delta started chirruping to Blue. Blue responded with a few barks, her tail snapping side to side. Echo and Charlie broke apart and began speaking with their sisters. Slowly they all showed increasing signs of agitation. Bodies tensing and tails twitching. Then Delta turned to Blue and roared a challenge.

Charlie slunk behind Echo as the two dominant raptors in the pack began to fight. Barry found himself alarmed when instead of play fighting, Delta and Blue violently tore into each other.

Blood flew through the air as they fought. They separated and circled before Delta lunged at Blue.

"Blue! Delta! Cut it out!" They completely ignored Barry.

Delta pushed Blue down before being kicked aside. They circled one another again. This time Blue ran at Delta and the fight resumed. Suddenly Delta was pinning Blue to the ground. Barry could only watch as Delta deliberately raked her sickle claw across Blue's abdomen. Blue stopped struggling against her sister's hold.

With a triumphant bark Delta walked away from Blue. She greeted Echo and Charlie before leading them to the other side of the paddock.

Blue rolled onto her injured belly and struggled to get her legs back under herself. He could see her muscles straining with the effort before she flopped back onto the ground. Blue didn't try to get back up. Her breathing was heavy and strained as her legs moved irregularly.

Barry panicked.

He raced to the stairway and nearly fell as he sprinted for the paddock entrance. A flurry of movement stirred in his wake as the raptor personnel, handlers and Park Rangers alike raced after Barry. And then Barry called Delta and her sisters into the stalls. They came willingly, gobbling up the treats enthusiastically.

Delta had blood running from numerous gashes, but she was moving steadily. Her injuries would be cleaned and stitched later. After they saved Blue… if they could save Blue.

The active raptors contained; Barry led a group of handlers and Park Rangers into the paddock. To Barry's left Jerry carried a muzzle and Thomas had a set of specialized hobbles for her claws. The rangers had their Taser rifles. He hoped they wouldn't need us them.

As they approached Blue, Barry felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn't see her chest cavity rising or falling anymore. Her hind legs were now stretched out behind her like a dead bird. She was still and silent. Eyes open and staring vacantly. He gently placed his hand upon her back.

"Oh Blue."

* * *

Rebel had tried to leave. Pack stayed together. Maybe Rebel isn't pack. She needed to figure it out a way to know. She wanted her own pack. She didn't want to be alone anymore.

She liked it when Rebel rubbed her. It was peaceful. Soothed her anger; her loneliness.

Rebel trying to leave had left her in a blind rage. Then it fell out of the tree and landed on her head. Rebel's calm vocals and gentle caresses had calmed her mind. Getting a head rub had felt _really_ nice. But she couldn't let Rebel's touch distract her from the problem.

She had thrown Rebel into the waterhole and then observed it. She was still angry at its escape attempt. It was now moving slowly around the waterhole, munching on plants. It was very strange behavior.

What is Rebel? How could she know if Rebel really is pack?

A strange animal call distracted her momentarily. Unknown was sending her live food, a small creature she had never seen before. And then she realized the solution to figuring out Rebel. Packs hunt together. If Rebel joined her in the hunt then Rebel is pack. If not, then she could always eat it.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the many wonderful reviews, favorites and follows. Information regarding edible plants was found in a Safety/Survival/Army Field Manual online in their Edible and Medicinal Plants section.

I shall abandon my antisocial ways momentarily:

Regarding criticism and my desire for it – it's like candy to me when it is done constructively. I may be antisocial but I do not take offense when people critique or correct me so I can improve. It actually feeds the need to improve my writing (a very hungry beast), which is part of why this story is being posted. (The other is the body language and personalities they gave the dinosaurs drove this story into my skull and it needed to be written to get it to leave me alone.)

FYI – the quote at the beginning of this chapter had a huge part in inspiring this story, although all the quotes I start chapters with are part of what brought you this story in some way, shape or form.


	6. Chapter 6

Jurassic World quote: "The key to a happy life is to accept that you are never actually in control." – Mr. Masrani

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

A goat was screaming as it was lowered into the paddock. He watched as the indominus rex tilted her head as she listened to the panicking animal. He could almost see the wheels turning as she watched the frantic animal.

She blinked, turning her head to look at Owen with both eyes. Her jaw dropped slightly and then she chuffed at him. Her attention returned to where the crane was depositing the goat. She crouched slightly, chirruping. She glanced at him briefly and then turned her head towards the bleating goat again.

Was the indominus calling him to hunt with her? He had no idea what she expected him to do.

The raptors liked to herd their prey. The indominus had never hunted with a pack before, had minimal hunting experience. He had never hunted with a dinosaur either. He was exhausted, starving, soaking wet, and injured. He was not fit to hunt and his only weapon was a knife.

Just another impossible day trapped with the indominus rex.

She tilted her head at him one more time and chuffed before she turned and stalked away. Owen's stomach might have lodged itself in his throat, but he still limped after the hybrid. He had already tested her patience once today; he didn't really feel like testing it again if he could help it right now. He could only hope he was interpreting her body language correctly.

They hadn't gone very far before the indominus froze, her eyes seeking something he couldn't see. She chuffed softly at him before turning her head, pointing. Taking it as a hint on where she wanted him, he began moving carefully in the direction she was watching.

He heard the goat before he saw it. It was trotting through the vegetation ahead of Owen calling for its herd. It was one of Rexy's goats.

He could see the indominus settling in to his right, hiding in the vegetation. She lowered her body before looking at Owen expectantly. She's alpha in this hunt, so she probably – he _hoped_ – expected him to drive the animal to her. Or she expected him to distract it while she took it out. Either of those ways, she would make the kill. He hoped that he wasn't supposed to kill the goat while she watched, that would be a little much in his current condition.

Owen carefully circled around the agitated goat. If it noticed him it gave no reaction. He'd never herded a goat before… hopefully this would work. Now on the far side of the goat from the indominus he leaped at it, shouting. It startled, bleating as it bolted away from him and towards the hiding indominus.

She moved swiftly, a clawed hand grabbed the goat before it had time to avoid her. He could only watch as the goat screamed in fear. The indominus tilted her head as she contemplated the trapped animal struggling within her grasp. It was hard watching it struggle; he understood its fear all too well.

And then the indominus snapped the goat up in her powerful jaws. Its life ended quickly. He cringed slightly as blood gushed out of the animal's corpse. That may be his fate too.

The indominus was powerful, smart and controlling. The whole situation felt ridiculous and left him frustrated. He might be stuck with the indominus, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. He decided that if he the indominus wanted to keep him here, then she could deal with him expressing his displeasure. Even if it was just talk.

Whoever designed this monster should be shot.

* * *

Delta crouched in front of her, challenging. She reciprocated, prepared for bloody battle. With a cry the fight began. Delta's teeth tore into her side as she slashed Delta's neck with her claws. Delta pulled back slightly and Blue darted forward, teeth snapping. Delta bared her teeth and lunged for Blue's throat. Twisting out of the way of Delta's teeth, Blue smacked Delta with her tail. Slightly unbalanced, Delta hopped out of range to recompose herself.

They circled one another looking for an opening in the other's defenses. The gash in her side ached. Delta pounced and both raptors tumbled to the ground. Claws and teeth cut through tough skin as they struggled to pin the other. Delta pushed Blue down. Twisting, Blue pushed Delta off with a hind foot. She jumped back up and growled at Delta.

Again they circled, snarling. This time Blue pounced onto Delta, claws dragging along her neck as Delta dodged snapping teeth. And then Delta snapped her teeth on the side of Blue's neck, pushing her down. A foot pinned Blue to the ground.

She and Delta were huffing from exertion, both dripping blood from vicious bites and slashes. Delta deliberately sliced across the tender skin of Blue's gut with her sickle claw, ending the fight.

Though the cut was actually fairly shallow, Delta had done her best to make it seem like an actual kill blow. Blood flowed from it, along with a multitude of other nicks and scratches. Delta crowed in mock victory and pranced away with her head held high.

Blue slowly rolled onto her belly to hide its less than fatal injury from watching eyes. She jerkily brought her legs under herself. Shakily rising part way, muscles quavered to make it seem like she was struggling to stand. After a few seconds of fake struggle, she collapsed. She groaned in agony – falling on open wounds _hurts._

Blue's sides heaved with every breath, each one purposefully wispier than the last. She let her eyes lose focus and twitched her legs sporadically. Slowly she allowed her body to go limp, legs extended out next to her tail and her breathing so shallow that it was nearly indiscernible. Leader should be proud at her acting ability.

It didn't take long before Barry was calling the pack into the holding area. They played their part and went willingly enough. Delta led them as though she really had won the fight.

Now it was Blue's turn to play the part of a dead animal. Breathing shallowly she listened carefully as the humans entered the paddock. They approached slowly, cautiously. As they got closer she let out one last shallow breath and then held perfectly still. She could smell the sharp metallic scent of weapons. She would need to be quick when she made her move; one hit could ruin everything.

She kept up her act of a dead animal and didn't outwardly acknowledge their approach.

"Oh Blue." Barry's hand rested against her back and the humans dropped their guard. She sprang up while sucking in a breath of air and ran full speed for the open gate, knocking Barry over and running right over one startled human in her path. She could hear the humans' startled exclamations, and screams, behind her.

After passing under the strong gate, it only took her a second to find the correct button to open the door to release her sisters. She had watched the humans release them just this morning. It worked.

Barry and the armed humans hesitated at the tree line as they saw the entire pack lose. Echo and Delta hissed threats at them. Charlie darted past the gate and joined Blue, chirruping excitedly. Blue crowed at Delta and Echo, _let's go_. Blue didn't care about the humans in the paddock, the pack needed to find Leader. _Now_ , she barked.

Her sisters joined her. Blue snarled as she pressed a button causing the strong gate to descend, locking Barry and the armed humans in the paddock. Another button, this one by the small door that led to the outside world, and they were free.

And then she was outside racing with her sisters to find Leader. Following old scent trails with not a moment to lose. The humans with painful weapons would be after them soon. Unfortunately the wind had died down and she was uncertain which direction it had been blowing outside of the metal walls earlier. She caught Leader's scent and followed it. The scent trail let to a couple of small buildings.

She called to Leader. Silence was all that answered the pack.

* * *

Today was her nephew's last full day at Jurassic World. Tomorrow they would get on the ferry to begin the journey back home. She had to work again today and dreaded leaving her nephews with Zara for any length of time.

So after breakfast, she was finally showing them the control room. Zach was doing his best to ignore everything while Gray was bouncing, literally bouncing, around the room asking questions. Gray had just left Lowery to go bother Sandy.

Lowery was finally free from her nephew. "Do you have Asset Containment's plan for the repairs of paddock 11 yet?"

Lowery turned to look at Claire. "They submitted it…" a loud alarm broke through the room, "first thing today." His eyes had darted to the map where a containment breech was flashing.

"What's going on?" She felt her heart jump into her throat when she saw just where the security breach flashed on the map. The _velociraptors'_ paddock. Lowery did something and then the velociraptors' trackers appeared on the map. They were racing away from the paddock.

"Okay, the raptors are loose… and they're moving _really fast_." Lowery's voice jolted her. This shouldn't even be happening. The raptor paddock had its own _armed_ security unit. _What had happened?_

They needed ACU on this _right now_.

"ACU is requesting the use of live ammo." Apparently Vivian had anticipated the need.

She struggled momentarily; the raptors had caused a huge controversy when they had been added to the island. There had been concerns for the continued safety of visitors with a predator that had such a cunning and vicious reputation. It had been a few years and the raptors still weren't ready for exhibit. But to kill them, when they had meant so much to Owen, were his legacy now… a legacy that would destroy the park if she wasn't careful. She couldn't save them just like she couldn't save Owen.

She opened her mouth to respond when she noticed Gray staring at her with wide, terrified eyes. Her nephews shouldn't be here for this. She turned to her assistant.

"Zara, could you take my nephews out of here for a moment." Zara nodded before sternly directing Zach and Gray out of the room. Gray stubbornly stood his ground.

"Aunt Claire, what are you going to do?"

"What needs to be done. Now go." Gray reluctantly allowed Zara to guide him out.

Claire was now able to focus on the problem. It _hurt_ to have to do it, but they need to keep the park guests safe. Hopefully ACU could handle the situation quickly. She would need to contact iNGen. The velociraptors were technically their IBRIS project, but she had the necessary authority to deal with the raptors in the event they escaped. It wouldn't be the first time they lost the raptors developed for the project. This set had lived the longest though and the first to get loose.

"ACU is authorized to use lethal force on the velociraptors. Send out an alert to everyone in Sector 5, they need to find a secure location until ACU takes care of this. I want all gates to Sector 5 locked. We can let ACU in when they get there as long as the raptors aren't near the gate. The velociraptors _will_ be kept in the restricted area. Our _first priority_ is to keep the guests safe." She listened as Vivian passed the information along. She returned her focus to the raptors' location. They had traveled a few miles from the paddock before stopping. Claire felt cold as she recognized the location.

"What are they doing?" Claire didn't catch who asked the question.

"They're looking for Owen Grady." Her voice came out in a monotone as she continued to watch the trackers stay where Owen used to live. The room was eerily silent; everyone in this room knew what had happened to Owen Grady.

* * *

He should have known that Blue was playing dead. That it was all a trick to get them to enter the arena. This wasn't her first time playing dead; just a heart dropping believable act. He should have made sure, Owen would have… _probably_.

Of course, that was the problem. Owen wasn't here. And now Barry, and couple of rangers and some of the IBRIS project staff were locked inside the paddock while the raptors ran free.

He could still remember the first time Blue had played dead.

 _It had been two weeks since Asset Containment had deemed the adolescent velociraptors Highly Aggressive. Two weeks since the four month old raptors had aggressively attacked one of the handlers. New rules were implemented. No one was to enter the Raptor Research Arena while the girls were loose. Not even their trainer._

 _Blue had been extremely unruly, refusing to listen to Owen and snapping at her sisters whenever they got too close to her. Barry was worried that Blue would become unmanageable, too aggressive for the IBRIS Project. Blue and Owen were constantly fighting for dominance; Owen's temper had been volatile lately._

 _Barry watched as Owen had another staring contest with Blue. He could see her growling, eyes unwavering as she looked up at Owen. Barry listened to the clicker as Owen reprimanded Blue. The velociraptor gave one more snort before her eyes suddenly widened. Barry could only watch in shock as Blue collapsed to the ground and convulsed._

 _The pounding of Owen's running footsteps on the catwalk shook Barry back into the moment. He quickly followed Owen down the stairs. By the time Barry was entering the_ _staging area_ _of the paddock, Owen was already opening the gate to enter the arena. It had only been two weeks since Owen had been in the arena with the girls._

 _Barry still worried. He found himself hovering near the gate controls, the gate only halfway up, ready to close it in case Owen needed to make a quick exit. He watched as Owen ran towards Blue. The other raptors had formed a semicircle around her. They were shifting in agitation but afraid to approach the seizing raptor._

 _Owen had almost reached Blue when she leaped up and pounced on him. Barry's heart jumped up into his throat and he couldn't breathe. He watched as Owen fell under the sixty pound velociraptor._

" _Blue!" The name was snarled as Owen twisted, wrestling the biting raptor to the ground. Delta, Echo and Charlie backed away as Owen pinned a growling Blue, keeping their distance for now. He could see blood running down Owen's arms and bloody tears in his pants. Owen was completely focused on Blue._

 _Barry couldn't see exactly what happened, but Owen suddenly released the young raptor. She stood tall and gave a bark at Owen. He snorted in response, still watching her every move. And then Blue cautiously approached Owen, reaching gently with her snout towards his hand._

 _Owen stood still as Blue began to nuzzle him before he reached out to caress her. Blue crooned and leaned into Owen's hand, nearly falling over. Barry let out a choked sigh of relief._

 _As Owen continued rubbing Blue, Barry watched as Charlie began inching closer to the duo. She was only a few feet away when Blue lunged for her sister, teeth snapping. Charlie leaped away, crying._

" _Hey!" Owen's shout stopped Blue's attack. "Be nice to your sister." Blue turned back to Owen, snarling. His hand snapped out and Blue pulled back slightly. They stared at one another until Blue blinked, head lowering minutely._

 _Owen then sent Blue into the stall. Leaving the arena, Owen then encouraged Blue to muzzle up with a treat. Barry closed the gate. Blue now restrained, Owen spent the next few minutes talking to her while caressing her._

 _It was only after he was satisfied that Blue's attitude that Owen sought medical attention for himself._

He complained for a few days about Blue destroying his favorite shirt, making light of what could have been a deadly disaster. There had been discussions on whether Blue should be terminated due to her aggressive behavior. Owen had fought for her and won, with a few changes to prevent further incidents. A full time team of Park Rangers was assigned to the raptor paddock and new security protocols were implemented.

Blue had tried playing dead a few more times in the following month. Owen did not rush into the paddock again, instead calling Blue to muzzle up and eventually she would comply. He would then give her a thorough rub down. Owen started a daily routine where he spent quality time with Blue. Afterwards, she stopped playing dead.

Barry had forgotten how tricky she could be, it had been almost two years since she had played dead. Outwitting Blue was supposed to be Owen's job. A couple days without Owen to rein Blue in and she had escaped, taking the pack with her.

Carl, one of the rangers, was on his radio with Schillinger, warning him that the raptors had escaped and requesting assistance to get them out of the arena. Barry found himself calling Control to let them know about the situation and to call for medical assistance. Thomas had deep gashes from Blue running him over; Jerry had stayed with him to try to stop the bleeding.

* * *

Blue was leading them on a search for Alpha-Leader. It was super exciting. The trees were extremely tall outside their metal boundaries. The very air tasted better outside the paddock walls. They'd followed an old scent trail that ended at a couple of unnatural structures.

Blue called out, Beta-Leader to Alpha-Leader. There was no response. Charlie darted around the buildings in a quick perusal of the immediate territory. Though Alpha-Leader's scent lingered in the immediate vicinity, there was no sign of Alpha-Leader anywhere.

Charlie jumped when she heard a sharp crack followed by a tinkling sound. Darting back around, she saw Echo's tail disappearing inside the mostly wooden structure. Blue and Delta followed. Not wanting to be left behind Charlie quickly jumped after her sisters. She cried out as a shard from the broken clear barrier cut into her foot.

Stopping, Charlie took in the glittering shards that surrounded her. She carefully maneuvered out of the shining debris. Balancing on her good foot she tended to her wound; using her teeth she gently searched for and removed any foreign objects. The cut was shallow and with a few licks she deemed it clean.

Looking around, she found walls dividing the interior structure into small rooms. The whole place was filled with Alpha-Leader's scent. Echo had found a pile of the changeable skins he was fond of wearing, she was digging through it. For what, Charlie didn't know. Delta was playing in a tiny room with a small water trough like apparatus, crooning at her reflection on the wall. Blue was moving back and forth through the rooms (except the tiny room Delta was in, it was too small for more than one of them) in agitation.

They had found Alpha-Leader's nest, but not Alpha-Leader.

Blue brushed past Charlie as she continued to search for signs of Alpha-Leader. Blue was stressed about Alpha-Leader and wasn't taking care of herself. Charlie was sure that Blue would lead them to Alpha-Leader soon.

In the meantime, Charlie found herself exploring Alpha-Leader's nest. Her tail kept on knocking into the wall behind her, Alpha-Leader had a small nest. Cozy. Maybe once they found Alpha-Leader the pack could move to his nest. It's perfect for curling up as a pack on the inside with plenty of space to explore outside. And the pack could all be together. It would be great.

Inhaling, she caught the aroma of something sweet that made her mouth water. Following the smell her nose pressed against smooth wood. The enticing smell was coming from the other side. It didn't take much effort before the wood broke apart and fell down, revealing a hidden stash of colorful bags.

Reaching in, Charlie grabbed a bag with her teeth and pulled it out. The bag crackled as she tore into it. Strange tasting, delicious treats were quickly gobbled down. Charlie grabbed out another of the crackly bags and took it to where Blue was pacing. Setting the crackly bag down in front of Blue, Charlie chirruped _sweet treat_.

Blue growled in agitation. _Need to find Leader. Now_.

Charlie lowered her head in dejection. Suddenly Delta and Echo were pushing past Charlie to the collection of treat filled bags. They snapped at each other as they squeezed into the small room with the treats. They tore open their own bags, each bag releasing different mouthwatering aromas.

Suddenly, Echo lifted her left foot and shook it vigorously. Charlie chuffed in amusement as she noticed one of Alpha-Leader's changeable skins twisted around and in Echo's claws. Echo snapped grumpily at Charlie. Just as she was about to use her teeth to tear the changeable skin from her foot Blue barked at the pack to get moving.

Charlie grabbed up the bag she had offered to Blue before chasing after their Beta-Leader, maybe Blue would eat it after they found Alpha-Leader. She maneuvered carefully through the sparkling shards before leaping out of Alpha-Leader's nest. She gleefully noted that the changeable skin was still stuck to Echo's foot as they ran through the forest.

Charlie was huffing by the time Blue stopped and sought confirmation of Alpha-Leader's scent. _This way!_ Blue's triumphant bark filled Charlie with new energy. They would find Alpha-Leader.

* * *

After the hunt she took Rebel on a patrol around the territory. It grumbled and snarled as it limped along beside her. But it did not try to leave her side. Even though Rebel was grumpy, she still enjoyed it talking to her. It didn't matter that she couldn't understand its language. She happily replied to, and occasionally interrupted, Rebel's comments.

It was nice to have a pack to talk with, even if she had to pretend they were really communicating. Rebel was getting better at listening to her at least. She could use simple, distinct barks to direct it. She had been working on directional commands as they patrolled. Rebel still struggled with _stop_ , but was getting better with _go_ , _left_ , and _right_.

Bored with the patrol – nothing really changes unless she changed it – she led Rebel back to her nest. Once there she ducked her head down right in front of Rebel. She crooned _rub me_ to Rebel, tilting her head so that it could easily reach her brow. Rebel complied, rubbing the top of her head like it had earlier this morning.

The sensation sent a thrill through her, leaving her giddy and playful. Whimsically, she pushed her brow into Rebel, forcing it to grab her horn or be knocked down. Rebel latched on while shouting at her. It didn't sound very happy.

She snorted while twisting and raising her head high, balancing Rebel on the side of her face. Rebel clung tighter to her horn as its legs dangled next to her cheek. Turning, she pushed its small body onto her back. Rebel let go of her horn shortly after its legs brushed against her side. It then climbed up her back while eyeing the ground skeptically, scolding her as it went.

Satisfied with Rebel's location, she began to jog through the forest. Playfully weaving through trees, she raced around the thick vegetation of her territory. It felt nice to stretch her legs. Rebel's soft hands and feet felt soothing upon her back as it braced itself.

She had completed a few circuits when she heard a strange call. A cry for pack.

Curious, she began to weave closer to the boundary where it had come from. Whatever it was she had heard was on the other side of the tall wall. She roared in frustration at the wall blocking her. She felt Rebel slipping down her back and tail before it dropped the rest of the way to the ground. It stood there, watching her warily.

* * *

IBRIS project: Integrated Behavioral Raptor Intelligence Study

A/N: Thanks again for your awesome reviews as well as the many favorites and follows. I appreciate your support. And hey, I got this done even though I caught a nasty bug and I discovered my vehicle was on the brink of a catastrophic brake failure… that could have been really bad. Chapter seven will likely be a bit slow in coming. Please be patient.

Random thought: So, in the movie, as far as I can tell no one tells Owen that the Indominus Rex can sense thermal radiation; even though it seems to be common knowledge to Claire and people in the Control Room. He hid from the Indominus Rex when he initially escaped her paddock underneath a crane, cutting the crane's fuel line to disguise his scent… except the Indominus can sense thermal radiation and wouldn't have been fooled by that. The Indominus was starting her rampage and killing for sport. She didn't even have to put the bad smelling human in her mouth to kill him; she is later shown stepping on and tossing ACU members to kill them, as well as chewing some of them up. So, for some unexplained reason the Indominus chose to let Owen live during their first encounter... but Owen thinks it was because he hid successfully. (Okay, so scriptwriters probably forgot momentarily that she didn't need to smell or see Owen to know he was there, but still, it's a fun thought.)


	7. Chapter 7

Jurassic World quote: "I just saw a bond. A real bond. Between man and beast." – Vic Hoskins

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

Leader's scent led to a tall wall, the contradictory smell permeated the area in a thick deluge, like pack killer and pack mixed together. A roar blasted from behind the tall wall; it sounded massive. She backed warily from the wall before gathering her resolve. She could smell Leader, she needed to call him. She steeled herself before barking as loud as she could. _Leader?!_

No answer. She barked again, listening carefully. A muffled voice replied followed by a sharp whistle. She leaped into the air at the sound and gave a joyful bark. Her sisters called out excitedly around her. Charlie even dropped the treat bag that she was determined to give Blue. Another whistle sounded from the other side of the barrier.

A roar reverberated through the air. This time its intonations carried a message. _Mine!_

Shock silenced the pack. The contrary smelling predator had stolen Leader. Blue screeched with all her fury. _Thief!_

The responding roar was nearly deafening even with the tall wall between them. _My pack!_

Leader needed to be rescued from Thief quickly. Blue hissed at her sisters, sending Delta and Echo to the left while she took Charlie to the right to search for a way to the other side of the tall wall. She ran as fast as she could while keeping an eye out for any openings through the barrier. Charlie trailed a little behind Blue, the treat bag held securely in her mouth again.

The trees suddenly gave way to a rocky clearing. A massive vehicle supported a sloping pathway that ended near the top of the tall wall. Close enough to jump.

A clanging sound distracted Blue from her examination. Continuing past the potential pathway she saw Delta and Echo eyeing the tall wall from a sky path. The tall wall was much higher than the sky path they had found. Giving up, Delta and Echo ran down the stairs and slid to a stop in front of Blue. Delta eyed the pathway Blue had noticed. It was the best way up.

Blue led the pack up the narrow path. She eyed the top of the tall wall as she prepared to jump. Leaping across the gap she carefully landed on top of the wall. Moving along the wall she was disappointed to see a sheer drop on the other side. One by one her sisters joined her. She led them along the top of the wall, seeking a safe or at least a semi-safe way down. Occasionally they had to jump up or down the uneven top of the wall.

As they traveled trees grew closer to the barrier. It didn't take long before a large tree with thick branches peeked Blue's interest. After a quick examination she determined it to be a way down. Jumping, she landed on a branch near the trunk of the tree. She was able to slowly make her way down, dropping from branch to branch. She made sure to stay where the branches were thickest. Blue made it all the way down without mishap. The rest of the pack followed her path one at a time.

The territory smelled awful. Snorting, Blue led the way to where Leader's scent was the strongest. The vegetation was thick and prevented her from seeing much in any direction. Light colored scales shifted right in front of Blue and she hopped to a stop. The pack quickly joined her. Echo stood on the far side of Delta to Blue's left while Charlie stood to Blue's right.

Leader was directly underneath the massive predator staring at her with wide eyes. There was no way to save Leader without moving into the deadly predator's range. It would be very difficult to be a pack if they all died. Leader sure was making this difficult. Just being this close to the lethal predator was making her sisters nervous. Blue made sure to stand tall; she would protect her sisters if necessary.

Instead of attacking the pack, the predator chuffed a greeting to the pack. _My pack?_ Blue wasn't sure what the predator meant. The predator chirruped at them _. My pack. Be strong pack together_.

Blue was uncertain of this contradictory predator trying to join their pack. She smelled like pack and like threat to pack. She also smelled slightly like Leader. Maybe she could be part of their pack. _You would join our pack?_

The enormous predator chuffed indignantly. _You join my pack. Be big pack. Strong pack._

There was only the one odd predator before them. Blue could only smell this predator and Leader in the vicinity. Leader. She's claiming Leader as her pack. Blue snarled. _Thief. Leader's part of our pack._

Blue tensed, preparing to attack the pack stealer. A large clawed hand slammed into her side right before she executed her own attacked. The force tossed her through the air. She smashed into something hard and then everything went dark.

* * *

A dull throb radiated from his ankle as Owen slid-hopped down the indominus rex's back and hind leg. Her attention was fixated on the cement wall and her roar turned into a rumbling growl resonating deep in her throat. A sharp bark cracked through the air originating from the other side of the paddock wall. A _velociraptor_ call.

Impossible. He's been stuck in this paddock too long if he's started hearing things.

It resounded again. A weight lifted from his chest at the familiar sound. "Blue!" his shout sounded weak. He whistled sharply, _I'm here_.

A cacophony of barks and screeches followed. It sounded like all of his girls were on the other side of the wall. Hearing their familiar voices sent a thrill of joy through Owen. He could feel his lips curving into a smile. He wasn't forgotten. He gave another sharp whistle.

Reality came shattering down as the indominus rex spun over him. Powerful forearms braced the ground to either side of him, boxing him in. Her head lowered and he dropped to a crouch beneath her. She gave a full throated roar to the wall. To the velociraptors.

She would _kill_ them.

The weight that had lifted off his chest at the sound of his girls came crashing back down, heavier than before. An angry screech rang through the air. _Blue_. He flinched as the indominus roared again. It was silent except for the ringing in his ears.

The indominus growled as she continued to focus on the wall. He slowly began creeping out from under the hybrid. Her left hand abruptly shifted to block his escape. His hear raced as he stood under her. A few minutes passed and nothing happened. He relaxed slightly.

The raptors remained silent.

As the adrenaline left his system Owen found himself wondering what the raptors were doing all the way out here. _How_ had they gotten out here? He had worked hard to make sure that the raptor paddock was secure. He'd only been gone two days - although it felt much longer. What had happened?

He jumped slightly as the indominus turned around over him. Owen limp-darted as fast as he could – not as fast as he'd prefer – out of the way of her ginormous feet. An open hand blocked him from getting out from under the indominus entirely. She snarled into the distance.

And then he heard them; running footsteps through the foliage. A few seconds later Blue appeared in the brush, followed closely by the rest of the pack. Blue and Delta looked like they had been in a fight. Fresh bite and claw marks left a bloody trail across their hides. He was momentarily distracted by a bright blue bag in Charlie's mouth. _Was that a bag of cookies?_ His stomach growled, but now was not the time to think about food.

Owen didn't know how to feel. Elated that his girls were here or terrified that he was now in a paddock with _five_ highly aggressive predators instead of just one. He watched as the raptors' heads bobbed as they looked from the indominus rex to Owen and back. Blue stood with her head held high before the indominus while her sisters stooped nervously around her.

The indominus chuffed and chirruped at his raptors. Blue trilled a response. Owen felt the blood draining from his face as the predators _talked_. More chuffing from the indominus and Blue _snarled_. He saw Blue's pupils contract as she prepared to attack but before she could the indominus swatted her to the side and growled.

Owen only had eyes for his best girl; Blue lay still nearby. Rage filled him and he forgot about his injured ankle and ran towards Blue. Suddenly a large grey-white forelimb was blocking his path. Cursing, Owen punched the appendage with all his might. The forearm lifted from the ground and her hand swept him off his feet, tossing him back under her.

The velociraptors were shrieking. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as fear for his pack clouded his vision. He couldn't let the indominus kill his girls. She's big and powerful, but his girls were fast. As long as they stayed out of her range they would be fine. He rolled onto his feet and shouted. "Hold!" The three raptors stopped calling out threats and looked at him. "Back up. Delta, Echo, Charlie! Back Up!" Amazingly, all three raptors backed away.

Grey-white scales flashed in front of him and stopped. The indominus held her hand just in front of him, claws twitching. Looking up, he saw her head tilted as she looked at him. She growl-purred and lifted her appendage. Turning, she looked at the velociraptors standing before her and chirruped. Delta squawked at _him_ before chuffing in reply to the indominus. Delta wriggled nervously as she talked to the large predator.

Movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. Blue was getting back up. She stalked back to the pack and snarled at the indominus. The hybrid roared in return. A knot tightened in his gut as he saw Blue preparing to take on the hybrid again. He was moving forward without really realizing it and his hand rose automatically. "Blue!" Her attention diverted to him. "Stand down!"

He felt the hairs on his arms and neck raise as the indominus growled behind him. He glanced back at her; the hybrid was focused on Blue and Owen looked at his Beta again. Taking a breath, he squared his shoulders and looked Blue in the eye; it would be up to him to keep her from doing a suicidal attack. Fortunately, the indominus wasn't shoving him back under her.

Blue twitched forward. "Blue! I said. Stand. DOWN!" She froze, her focus turning from the hybrid to Owen. Her head tilted in consideration. He could see her pupils narrow and her lips pulled back to expose her teeth. "Blue." His voice came out in a soft plea.

Blue's expression softened and she hesitantly stepped back. He took a quick glance at the indominus, she was still watching the raptors avidly, before turning his attention back to Blue. The rest of the pack stood behind Blue, watching the confrontation intently.

As he continued to stare Blue down, she suddenly stiffened before she stepped towards him and snapped her teeth. "Blue! Cut it out." Blue stopped and he quickly glanced back to verify that the indominus wasn't showing signs of aggression. Satisfied for the moment, he continued his stare down with Blue.

She cocked her head to the side and chirruped at him, pupils dilating as she relaxed. Owen startled and jumped towards Blue when the indominus chuffed behind him. Turning, he watch as the indominus barked at the raptors. Blue barked back before looking at Owen pointedly. His heart pounded in his chest as all five predators focused on him.

"Hey. Take it easy." The predators all seemed to relax at his softly spoken platitude.

Blue slowly approached him while the rest watched. She stopped within arm's reach of Owen. She appeared calm and contemplative. Owen took a breath before slowly reaching towards Blue. "Easy. That's it." She held herself perfectly still as his had lightly brushed her jaw. Touching Blue when they were on equal ground was amazing. Blue trilled before she head butted him in the chest.

"Hey!"

Unprepared, Owen stumbled backwards and struggled to remain standing as his ankle protested the sudden maneuver. His arms swung out as he attempted to regain his balance. Blue closed the distance between them and he cringed as his flailing hand smacked her side. Fortunately she didn't snap at or attack him. If anything, she seemed to consider it a love tap as she nuzzled her head against his chest; hard enough that he had to brace himself. He stroked her neck almost automatically, being careful to avoid her wounds.

"I missed you too."

Hot air blew across his neck right before a plastic bag of cookies scraped against his jaw. He hadn't even noticed Charlie approach. The youngest raptor chirped while dropping the bag at his feet. He stiffened slightly as her jaw rested on his right shoulder; her muzzle pressing into his jaw. Blue purled happily as she shifted closer to him and leaned into his left side. He was pinned between two overly affectionate velociraptors. It took conscious effort to keep his breathing calm and even.

Delta and Echo were no longer in his view. Of course, that was a bit limited with Blue and Charlie pushing into his sides and neck, keeping him from looking anywhere but straight ahead. A moment later he heard them… talking with the indominus rex.

* * *

The raptors had _raced_ all over the restricted area, making it impossible for ACU to catch up or cut them off. When they had been about a mile east of paddock 11 they had stopped briefly before heading straight there. Fortunately they had been able to warn all the workers in time for them to find shelter from the raptors.

"The raptors jumped into paddock 11. They are making their way towards the indominus. This might be over soon." Commander Hamada then went over strategies with Commander Austin in the event the raptors jumped back out. Troopers surrounded the paddock, prepared to shoot down any raptor that appeared on top of the wall.

Claire watched the red dots that represented the raptors move across the map of paddock 11 until they reached the red dot marked as the indominus rex. Four raptor dots blinked side by side on the map as they prepared to attack the indominus rex; their trainer's killer.

Somehow, they seemed to know that the indominus rex killed Mr. Grady. The hybrid would probably kill the vengeful pack; she had been designed to be a super predator after all. The air in the control room was thick with tension.

"I'm rooting for the raptors." Lowery's voice broke the silence.

"They're gonna die. The indominus is _lethal_." The comment came from the front row.

"The raptors are lethal and super intelligent. And they're looking for revenge. Piece of advice: Never mess with a raptor's pack." Sandy smiled at Lowery briefly, not that he noticed since he was staring at the monitor.

This was followed by control personnel throwing in their two cents on the imminent showdown. Most of them wanted the raptors to take down the indominus, while a few maintained that the indominus would kill them.

"Calm down. We need to focus on the problem. Right now we have four rogue raptors that may or may not die in the next few minutes. If they don't, then we need a plan to terminate them… preferably before they kill anyone. ACU does not consider them secure in paddock 11." Silence followed Claire's declaration. The control room focused once more on trying to figure out what was happening by watching dots move across a screen.

One raptor dot labeled 'Blue' moved suddenly before it winked out. The other four dots on the map remained and only shifted slightly. A little later the three velociraptor dots moved a little further from the indominus dot. It was frustrating to not know what was going on in there. They need to get cameras back up as soon as possible.

Eventually the three remaining raptor dots moved closer to the indominus dot. One stopped short while the other two were nearly right on top of it. They moved only slightly in the next few minutes. No more dots winked out. They didn't appear to be moving like they were fighting either.

"We need to get someone who knows the raptors in here. Maybe they'll be able to figure out what's going on in there." Claire gave Vivian a pointed look. That was all the prompting she needed to call the raptor handlers. They agreed to send someone named Barry to the control room.

The raptors and indominus began to move around the paddock together. No dots vanished, and the raptors moved around enough that they were definitely not eaten. As none of the predators were causing problems at the moment, she went to join her nephews for lunch with orders to call her if anything happened. Asset Containment was working with Barry to figure out a plan to get the raptors out of paddock 11. No one knew if they could climb back out or not, they had to get this resolved quickly.

Gray greeted her enthusiastically while Zach rolled his eyes. They went to Yoshinoya Restaurant for a quick lunch.

"What happened with the raptors? Did anyone get eaten?" Gray fidgeted while looking at her eagerly.

"The raptors are currently in another paddock. And no one got eaten." Which was fortunate, although one handler was in emergency surgery.

"So… they're still alive? Are they secure? Can we see them?" Gray's eyes brightened as he looked at her.

Claire sighed before responding. "Yes. Maybe. No."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zach questioned, he was looking at something behind Claire. Probably teenage girls. She had noticed yesterday – Gray pointed it out a few times – that Zach liked to flirt a lot.

"It means that you will not be visiting the raptors and they are in a paddock in the restricted zone."

"Can we go back in the control room? We already know they got loose." She lost focus on just what Gray was saying as he continued to plead his case. _Would it hurt to let them back into the control room?_ She needed to be there but this was supposed to be her family time too. "Please Aunt Claire?" Gray looked at her with wide, begging eyes.

* * *

Her hand blocked Rebel from running to the predator she had swatted aside. Though it smelled strongly of _pack_ , it had challenged her place as Leader. The remaining three pack predators held their ground, watching her warily. Rebel pounded a fist into her forearm; a flick of her wrist tossed it back and away from the pack predators. These pack predators are _not_ stealing Rebel.

The odd crackly thing one of the pack predators carried was dropped as they all shrieked at her, calling for her to _die_.

She snorted, _fools_ , and shifted in preparation for their attack. She was mightier than all four of them put together and now there was only three.

A shout startled the pack predators. She had forgotten about Rebel momentarily. She didn't like it talking to the pack predators that claimed it as Leader; she would have to stop it. Angry, she swept her hand at it, preparing to toss it behind her when she noticed the three pack predators back away a few steps. She stopped her hand just before it would have connected with Rebel.

Was Rebel telling its old pack that she is the Leader now?

She turned her head in order to see Rebel as it stood under her and watched as Rebel turned to look at her as well. Pleased with its acknowledgement of her superiority she crooned _good pack_ and pulled her hand away from Rebel.

She chirruped at the pack predators. _See? My pack now. I'm Leader._

The pack predator in the middle stiffened before squawking at Rebel. _What-why?!_

When Rebel didn't respond, the pack predator looked at her with a chuffed _maybe._ It looked uncomfortable as it fidgeted.

She crooned at the antsy pack predator. _We should be pack_.

The pack predator twitched before hesitantly responding. _You stole Leader. You attacked Beta-Leader_.

Silly little pack predator. _Rebel my pack now. Beta-Leader challenged me. I won. My pack.  
_

 _Not yet_.

The snarled response came from Beta-Leader who had apparently recovered. If Beta-Leader refused to submit then she'd have to make sure it died this time. She roared her acceptance of its challenge. Rebel darted in between them before either could begin their attack. It was shouting at Beta-Leader.

Rebel was truly living up to its name today. She growled an angry warning at the pack predators. Rebel turned to look at her before refocusing on Beta-Leader. Rebel really was dauntless as it stood before Beta-Leader. Beta-Leader was a hardier creature then whatever Rebel was, with sharp teeth and claws. It could tear Rebel apart with ease.

Beta-Leader twitched forward and she tensed her muscles in preparation. Rebel barked something at Beta-Leader and she stopped stiffly. Beta-Leader gave Rebel an unhappy look. She prepared to _deal_ with Beta-Leader if it attacked Rebel or her. But for now she'd let Rebel bring its pack into submission, if it could. Rebel gently called to Beta-Leader and it backed off slightly.

Rebel turned to look at her again. She let out a puff of air; Rebel is _her_ pack; the pack predators wouldn't be stealing it away. If Rebel could convince them to submit to her then she would be happy to have more pack. She nodded approvingly at Beta-Leader's submission.

Beta-Leader stiffened before stepping towards Rebel and snapping its teeth angrily. She lets her lower jaw open threateningly towards Beta-Leader. Rebel barked at Beta-Leader who halted her aggressive approach. Rebel foolishly looked at her again - it needs to learn not to take its eyes off its challenger - before returning its attention to Beta-Leader.

Beta-Leader cocked her head at Rebel before chirruping calmly. _Thief is your responsibility._

 _It's MY pack._ Rebel jumped at the sound of her voice then turned to look at her. She focused on the three pack predators behind Beta-Leader. _My territory. I'm Leader now_.

 _Only because Leader lets you!_

At Beta-Leader's comment she couldn't help but look at Rebel. It shifted minutely under her gaze. It chattered calmly at them and the pack predators relaxed. The tension in her muscles eased as the pack accepted Rebel's decision.

Beta-Leader slowly approached Rebel. She kept a careful eye on it to make sure it behaved itself, now that it was a part of her pack. Rebel spoke to Beta-Leader before gently caressing its jaw.

 _I missed you._ Beta-Leader affectionately greeted Rebel, almost knocking Rebel over in its enthusiasm. Rebel gave a startled bark before righting itself and returning Beta-Leader's affections. Satisfied that Beta-Leader and Rebel wouldn't cause trouble for the moment, she turned her attention to the other pack predators. They were also relaxing as Beta-Leader and Rebel greeted each other.

One pack predator swooped down to grab the object it had dropped earlier before joining Rebel and Beta-Leader. The other two approached her; the one with brownish markings trotted up to her while the other, the one that had led their pack while Beta-Leader was stunned, followed cautiously.

The brown splotched one stretched its nose towards her. She lowered her head so they could sniff each other. The other one joined the first, the air they blew at her tickled her nose. She crooned happily. _My pack_.

The brown splotched one snorted. _Alpha-Leader claims you. Strong pack addition_.

 _Alpha-Leader scent on you. You really are part of pack._ The other pack predator chuffed in surprise.

 _I lead Rebel. Now I lead whole pack._ The pack predators shifted unhappily. She barked sharply at them. Daring them to contradict her leadership.

 _Alpha-Leader… Rebel?_ They were confused about a name? Why? They know who she's referring to; stupid thing to be upset about. Rebel is _not_ her leader. Rebel, however, is their leader apparently.

 _Rebel-Leader_. She could combine Rebel's name with their name for it when she was talking with them. They still looked unhappy but unwilling to challenge her. _I'm Leader… or Alpha-Leader._

 _Thief. Bossy-Bully Thief._ Beta-Leader shrieked but didn't move from Rebel's side. It glared unhappily at her. Beta-Leader was as stubborn and rebellious as Rebel. It would take time, but Beta-Leader would learn to respect her. Rebel was still learning, but it is better at respecting her authority than when she started working with it.

 _Foolish-Rebel. That's you._ She snarled to Beta-Leader.

Rebel gave a soft, plaintive cry to Beta-Leader… Foolish-Rebel.

It was time to get the pack listening to her. With a bark she directed them through parts of her territory. The tour included the smelly place, her nest and the waterhole. The pack settled down around the waterhole for a little relaxation. She enjoyed observing her little pack members. Foolish-Rebel kept right next to Rebel the entire time.

A loud popping sound was followed by a mouthwatering smell. It wafted from the crackly bag that Rebel now held. Rebel pulled yummy smelling things out before tossing a treat to the little pack predators. Each one snapped up the treat enthusiastically. Rebel happily munched a treat as well.

Where was hers?

She lowered her head nearer to Rebel and chuffed. _Mine?_

Rebel examined her with narrow eyes while Foolish-Rebel exposed her teeth. Ignoring Foolish-Rebel's antics, she opened her mouth in anticipation. Rebel groaned before reaching into the crackly bag and tossing a treat into her open jaws. The treat was tiny but deliciously sweet.

* * *

The harder she pulled the more the changeable skin pulled uncomfortably against her toes. Frustration burned in her as she tried to saw through the changeable skin with her teeth. It tore a little, but it would not come off. Amused clucking distracted Echo momentarily.

Looking up she saw Charlie looking on in amusement. Rage tore through her and she lunged at her sister. Charlie _pranced_ as she dodged Echo's attack, chuffing in glee as she darted behind Alpha-Leader and Beta-Leader. Blue ignored them both, leaning into Alpha-Leader's side. She was making sure he wouldn't disappear on them again.

Looking at Alpha-Leader brought back memories of when they were young. Echo had always seemed to be getting her claws stuck in things. Alpha-Leader had always saved her. Alpha-Leader could get the changeable skin off her foot. Chirruping happily, she approached her pack leaders.

She extended her foot and the tangled mess out towards Alpha-Leader while keening, _help_.

Alpha-Leader looked at her in the eye and then down at the mess before slowly reaching his hand towards her side. He crooned, "Easy. That's good. That's real good." She made sure to hold still as Alpha-Leader gently touched her shoulder. His hand brushed down her side and hind leg in a soothing stroke until it reached the changeable skin. He then used his fingers to work the changeable skin loose. It tugged uncomfortably between her toes before Alpha-Leader pulled the skin off her foot.

She wiggled her toes and rubbed her head against Alpha-Leaders chest in gratitude. He grunted and rubbed her under her jaw. It felt _so_ good. Echo trilled happily as Blue reached around Alpha-Leader and affectionately nuzzled her shoulder. _So. Nice_.

Her pleasure was interrupted by Bully-Boss driving the pack away from the waterhole. She directed the pack to her nest area. She wanted a nap… and so the _whole_ pack had to join her. Echo didn't really want to take a nap in the middle of the day. But she also didn't want to annoy Bully-Boss into killing her.

Bully-Boss settled down around the pack. Even lying down she was enormous. Bully-Boss crooned _rub me_ to Alpha-Leader. Blue snarled at Bully-Boss. Bully-Boss growled and stood back up.

Echo backed away from the dominance fight that was about to take place. Charlie darted behind Alpha-Leader, resting her head against his back, one hand shifted behind him to rest soothingly against her neck. Delta stood near Echo to watch. Blue was a good fighter and wouldn't appreciate interference. Alpha-Leader tried to calm Blue and Bully-Boss, but they refused to listen. Bully-Boss would need to prove herself above Blue in the pack.

Blue leapt at the huge predator and almost managed to dodge her clawed hand. The claws scraped across Blue's side and tripped her. Before Blue could rise the hand snapped down on top of the raptor. Bully-Boss growled at the rest of the pack in warning as Blue bit and scratched at the hand holding her down. Echo backed off even more along with her sisters.

Alpha-Leader was shouting unhappily, words that Echo didn't understand. Except 'Blue'. A snap of Bully-Boss's teeth in Leader's direction got him to back off slightly. She could hear his teeth grinding as he glared at Bully-Boss. Echo shifted uneasily as Bully-Boss closed her massive jaw around Blue's neck and body. Blue cried, submitting. Echo doubted it would last. Blue was stubborn and full of fight… and she didn't like Bully-Boss.

Happy with her win, Bully-Boss released Blue and made them all curl up together for a nap. Bully-Boss got Alpha-Leader to rub her jaw before she relaxed. Once Blue was satisfied that Bully-Boss was done being rubbed, she slipped her claws into the armhole of the brown changeable skin and pulled him down for the packs forced naptime.

Echo watched as Blue settled her head on Alpha-Leader's chest, claws clenching his changeable skin. Charlie curled up on Alpha-Leader's legs. Huffing, Echo lay down with her back against Alpha-Leader's side that was not occupied by Blue. Delta curled up on Echo's other side and Bully-Boss's large limbs and torso surrounded them all.

* * *

When they had first seen Aunt Claire and she had offered to show them the control room, Gray hadn't thought it would be this exciting.

In just a few moments the infrared cameras that had just been installed on paddock 11 would come online. While Aunt Claire wasn't willing to take them to see the velociraptors in person before they had to leave tomorrow, at least he would get to see them.

Energy overwhelmed him and he bounced slightly as Lowery brought the new footage up. It took all of his willpower to stay quiet. Claire had threatened that if they distracted anyone then they would be kicked out of the Control Room again. And then the thermal image of the predators was right in front of him.

He got as close as he could, without touching anyone, to the image. A few trees blocked a part of the screen. Since the cameras had been just whatever they had available, they had used cheaper cameras that lacked an internal cooling unit. The image wasn't the best but Gray could still see the group of predators lying curled up together.

Someone was talking, but something about the image just didn't seem right and he ignored them. He focused all of his attention on the thermal image. They were all clumped together with the indominus rex (apparently paddock 11 was home to a genetically engineered hybrid dinosaur as big as the t-rex and still growing). He could pick out the five predators, but there was something else there as well.

That was what had been bugging him, a sixth body radiating heat in the middle of the raptor pile. Now that he knew he was looking at another warm body, it didn't take Gray long to figure out what it was.

"There's a person in there."

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is supporting this story through reviews, favorites and follows. Your reviews are wonderful… and some even inspire small changes to the story… okay, I changed part of the epilogue outline because someone's review gave me a horribly fun idea that took very little to incorporate.

I'm not completely happy with this chapter (it turned into a bit of a monster and was challenging to write – I haven't written in _years_ and then this story idea wouldn't leave me alone).

In case anyone was wondering… my random thought occurred while I was sick and out of sorts. I still find it intriguing and even looked up how pit vipers sense thermal radiation – really neat stuff. There are a lot of fun, potential explanations for the scene in the movie.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – version: insanity

Jurassic World quote: "I don't control the raptors. It's a relationship. It's based on mutual respect." – Owen Grady

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

Claire paled as Gray's statement sunk in. Her eyes widened and she swore under her breath as she realized who that person had to be. It had been two days… it should be impossible. How could they not notice that he was still in there? How was he not dead?

"A person the raptors like, and not in a 'you look tasty' sort of way 'cause they're totally cuddling with him. So, more like a friendly, part of their pack, let's all hang out together sort of like."

"Owen." Barry cut off Gray's rambling. "That's gotta be Owen. That crazy…" Barry's voice petered off into indistinct grumbling in French. Claire turned to look at the velociraptor handler. His jaw clenched intermittently as he mumbled and his fingers were twitching.

Zach and Gray were talking at the same time. Vivian kept glancing at Lowery's monitor as he started digging through old recordings. Her heart sank as she saw the thermal image of paddock 11 on the screen from the time of the incident. Three humans appeared on one of the images and a pale Lowery watched the video play.

Claire felt sick and glanced away from the video. Zach was standing beside her, watching avidly. Her eyes widened as she moved to block his view, eyes searching for Gray. He was still watching the main monitor where the live thermographic footage continued to play.

Grimacing, Claire maneuvered Zach to his brother and herded them both out of the room. She sent a quick text for Zara to come meet them right outside the control room. They weren't very happy to be left with her assistant... again, but she had work to do. Work that could take a turn for the worst at any moment with five predators and a human all locked in a paddock together, even though Owen had somehow managed to survive on his own thus far.

Returning, Claire joined Barry right behind Lowery and watched the video displayed on the small monitor. There was only one human carefully working his way through the dense vegetation in the paddock visible now. The time-stamp was several hours after the initial incident.

Lowery broke the silence. "He was still alive. We didn't check. We all thought the indominus ate him before she came back out of the woods, but he was still alive." Lowery glanced up at her before pulling up another recording, this time just before the cameras were destroyed. "We sent copies of all the security footage during the time of the killings for review during the investigation. We didn't watch it all… who wants to watch people get eaten? Again? But it's their job to be thorough; they should have noticed something off. Said, 'Hey, one of the guys is still alive in there.' We could have done something to get him out."

Barry swore in French, or at least it sounded like he was swearing. Claire couldn't be sure.

Lowery started searching through the various thermographic recordings, searching for Owen. Proof that he lived through the first night, was still alive before they lost the cameras. It seemed impossible that a man could survive in the cage of a monster. Live video notwithstanding, they still wanted more proof that a man, that Owen Grady, was actually in there.

Lowery was partially right about the videos they had turned over. Even so… "I don't have access to the on goings of the investigation. But if we had continued checking the thermographic footage in conjunction with the tracking implant to keep track of the indominus rex, we would have known right away that Mr. Grady was still alive." Claire felt like kicking herself.

Why hadn't they continued to watch the thermographic cameras? So the indominus rex had managed to hide from the thermal imaging for a moment, she normally showed up just fine. She could see the thermographic images of Owen lying on the ground not far from the indominus… he got up slowly. Her heart skipped a beat when he favored his left leg. "What just happened?"

"Ah, let me back it up. I just started the play time a half hour before the camera was destroyed." The video rewound. Whatever they were witnessing, it had happened yesterday. She gasped as Owen flew up and into the hybrid's mouth; she popped him out into her hand, dropped him on the ground and began digging in reverse.

Lowery paused the recording before he started to play it back again, face taut with dread. Claire glanced back up at the main monitor where she could vaguely make out a human form amongst the velociraptors. Whatever happened, it couldn't end with Owen being eaten.

"Claire, ACU is on the line." Vivian looked up at her with haunted eyes.

* * *

His bruised ribs protested Blue's weight and his left ankle throbbed in pain where it was pinned under Charlie. Blue ignored him when he tried to shove her off; she merely rubbed her head against his chest and hissed. Air was forced from his lungs as Echo shoved her body against him. She wiggled her neck and back under his shoulder.

He grunted as Echo jammed herself underneath him. Blue growled irritably for a moment, her large eye glaring in disapproval. Grunting, she shifted more of her mass onto his chest, compressing his diaphragm even more.

Owen had heard whispered speculation on how the raptors would kill him. None of the predictions included anything close to suffocation by cuddling. Every breath was a battle with Blue's weight compressing his abdomen.

He watched as Delta eyed the pile, silently pleading for her to not to join. She straightened up, alert as she examined their surroundings. A minute later, she relaxed and settled down on the other side of Echo. He would have heaved a sigh of relief if he'd had the breath for it.

If Owen was doomed to be killed by his girls today, it won't be through suffocation. Gritting his teeth, he shoved Blue's back. Pinned as he was it, he barely shifted her body. Her head snapped up and she snarled at him, teeth brushed threateningly against his arm. Her body continued to press down on his chest and abdomen.

"Blue. Move." It came out much weaker than he wanted. Tired and straining to breath, Owen ignored the sharp claws and teeth that could ripe him apart and smacked Blue's back. She growled and snapped her teeth at him. Jaw clenching harder, he glared back.

Her amber eyes blinked, head cocking to really look at him. Then she shifted, her claws never loosening from his vest. She huffed, settling down with just her head pressed into his chest. Breathing was much easier.

He could feel warm air blow against the sensitive skin of his throat. Bile threatened, and he swallowed convulsively as he fought to remain calm even as teeth brushed against his neck. His spine tingled as she rumbled cantankerously, warning him that she would not cede to him anymore at this time.

A moment of silence was followed by soft tittering clacks as Blue began talking. Her nose pushed into his neck and she gave a mournful keen before her chattering resumed. Tension eased at the familiar sounds. His right arm rested across Blue's neck as his fingers kneaded her crest. She relaxed into his touch, warbling happily.

One problem semi-solved, he steeled his resolve for addressing the other one; made all the more nerve wracking with Blue pressing her snout into his jugular.

"Charlie. Off my foot." He shifted his right foot back and forth under the raptor, hoping to get her attention. She shifted slightly and he kicked his foot harder as her weight started to move off of it.

"Charlie. Move. Off." Blue rumbled lazily into his neck and he froze momentarily. Charlie grunted and rolled off of his legs. Owen quickly bent his left knee, pulling his injured ankle away from the drowsy velociraptor. His left hand braced against his aching ankle, anchoring it against the pain. A moment later a weight draped across his right leg, shifting and tugging on his boot before turning into a dead weight. At least his injured ankle was no longer under her.

He was done testing his luck for the moment.

Breathing deeply, Owen relaxed tense muscles. He stared at the blue sky, emotionally and physically exhausted. The whole situation felt surreal. He was oddly at peace while lying on and under velociraptors. The exuberant cuddling brought back memories of baby raptors, when they looked up to him as a protector and provider. A time when their teeth and claws were small and not quite lethal.

His thoughts wandered as time slowly passed. He could feel moisture pooling on his chest as Blue drooled on him. It wasn't worth an argument with a temperamental, clingy predator. His nose wrinkled at the smell.

After what must have been hours, the indominus rex moved. Four velociraptor heads popped up and turned to watch the predator. Owen tilted his head back from where he was pinned on top of Echo. The massive predator heaved a groan and stood up. Delta shot to her feet and warily watched the indominus. Echo twisted out from under him, a dull thump announced the moment his head hit the ground. Claws pressed against his shirt as Blue shifted her grip on his vest. Her head tilted as she scrutinized at him.

He hissed as a sharp pain abruptly shot through his right leg as Charlie groaned and rolled over, wiggling back and forth to scratch her back. A sensation of pins and needles burned through his leg as circulation returned to it. He evened out his breathing and slowly moved his leg to encourage proper circulation.

He started as a warm puff of air blew into his ear. Blue's head was inches away from his face as she crouched over him. Her claws finally released his vest as her pupils widened and she gave a playful chirrup. Warm, soft skin brushed against his cheek as she pressed her nose into him. He stiffened as a wet tongue slathered his neck. Eyes briefly closing as he contemplated how easy it would be for her to kill him.

He flinched when Blue began nibbling on his hair right behind his ear. He could feel her teeth brushing against his scalp as she crooned happily. He reacted without thinking. A moment later Owen blinked as Blue stared at him. His hand was resting against her mouth where he had reflexively pushed her head away.

He slowly sat up while pulling his hand back, keeping an eye on Blue as he took in the rest of the animals around them. The indominus and the three velociraptors were grooming themselves. Delta was engrossed in her grooming regimen, enthusiastically cleaning her feet. Echo mimicked the indominus in her cleaning, watching the larger predator and copying her movements. Charlie watched Blue and Owen while she meticulously cleaned her foreclaws.

Blue shifted closer to Owen, her head slowly leaning down until it was gently pushing into his hand. He brushed his hand along her jaw and she sagged into the touch. He spent a few moments luxuriating in his girl loving him. Rubbing her in all her favorite places.

The indominus chuffed loud and demanding, reminding Owen of the mess he was in. She hovered over the pack; eyes narrowed and jaw slightly ajar. Blue snapped her head around and chittered at the hybrid. The indominus chatted with the pack for a few minutes. Watching his girls chat so calmly with the indominus rex was both calming and nerve wracking. He had no idea if they were plotting anything.

Blue remained glued to his side. Eventually the chatting died down and the indominus relaxed.

* * *

When Barry had told ACU that going in there with dart guns blazing was a good way to get everyone killed, he was ignored. _They were trained for this._ When Lucas Schillinger had backed Barry up, people actually listened. It wasn't fair. Barry knew the velociraptors better than anyone outside paddock 11.

Barry was annoyed that he needed someone to second his opinion and grateful that Schillinger had done so. Maybe if they got ACU to _think_ before jumping into action this might have a happy ending. The planning session that they called had turned into an argument. He was too frustrated to even attempt adding his opinion right now.

Commander Hamada was in a heated discussion with iNGen's veterinarian over the radio. There was no guarantee that sedation would work on the predator. Apparently, when she had been young it had taken a high dosage to knock her out intravenously and she had fought against the sedative. When she woke up, the hybrid had been agitated and aggressive for several hours. The vet was also concerned that darting the indominus would incite aggressive behavior before it could knock her out. Intramuscular sedatives take a few minutes to take full effect, especially with large animals.

So far, they had three basic ideas on how to get Owen and the velociraptors out of paddock 11.

The first was to simply open the door into the paddock and let them walk out. The door was much too small for the hybrid and was heavily reinforced. They would need to block off the hallway to keep the raptors contained and have some meat prepared with an oral sedative that Owen could feed them in the hallway.

It would then be a simple matter of moving the sleeping raptors back to their own paddock in a trailer. The main problem was the possibility that the raptors would become agitated or aggressive while confined in the hallway with Owen. However, it was the simplest plan and did not require incapacitating the indominus rex.

The second plan required orally sedating all of the dinosaurs. The veterinarian was called in to prepare the sedative, just in case. It had precipitated the conversation he could still hear going on. The veterinarian had been concerned that such a large predator would not be fully sedated when administered orally. Apparently, it wasn't always very effective in larger animals. It might just make the indominus rex drowsy, or it might fully sedate her. Until they actually attempt to sedated her orally, they wouldn't know.

Add to that the difficulty in orally sedating the indominus rex without overdosing the much smaller velociraptors and the plan became even more complicated. They could end up killing the velociraptors. ACU wasn't too worried about that but after Owen had spent a couple days trapped with the indominus they were willing to try to save his girls. He had also seen a few troopers watching the thermal recording of Owen sleeping with his girl in awe.

If they could fully sedate all of the animals then it would be a simple matter to remove the slumbering raptors and let Owen walk out.

The final plan was ACU's first plan; to shoot the animals full of sedative and get Owen out. Barry was fairly certain that it would be impossible to dart all of the velociraptors. If the raptors suspected any sort of threat they would be near impossible to hit, dart or bullet. The girls were fast and smart. The other problem was no one knew how the indominus would react if darts started flying.

Owen had somehow managed to bond with the indominus rex. He was right next to the predator with his raptor pack. He had survived two days on his own with the hybrid, but two days was not very long to form a strong bond. The last thing anyone wanted was to incite the indominus rex into killing Owen.

The fact that Owen _had_ managed to win over the massive predator worried Barry. It had killed people, why not Owen?

* * *

Delta raced around the pack, leaping out of the way of Blue's scolding nip. Her legs floated under her as the wind played across her skin. Nothing could catch her now.

She whimsically bolted over an inattentive Echo. The impact sent Echo tumbling head first into the dirt. Delta stopped briefly to see if she had managed to antagonize Echo into playing with her. She watched as her sister pushed herself back up and shook the dirt off. Echo's eyes narrowed as she spotted Delta watching her. Rage filled the raptor. Growling, she charged Delta.

Delta chirruped happily, bounced on her feet and then giddily raced away from Echo. She circled around the pack while weaving through the trees listening to Echo's indignant shrieking as she gave chase. Sprinting around the pack leaders and Charlie, Delta leapt over Bossy-Bully's toes before running between her legs. She looked behind her when she heard Echo cry in pain, one eye still keeping watch for trees or brush in front of her.

Echo was on her side and scrambling to stand up as Bossy-Bully turned and growled at her. _Out of my space_. Regaining her feet, Echo ran away from Bossy-Bully having forgotten about Delta.

Delta slowed to a trot when the ground suddenly vanished. A startled yelp echoed as she fell. She landed haphazardly and panicked when her lungs refused to work. Dirt dug into her wounds from that morning, burning her. Pain flared in her hips as she thrashed, mouth gaping. Her vision blurred and then she felt the overwhelming need to get out, Get Out, GET OUT!

"DELTA!"

The familiar sound of Alpha-Leader's voice stilled her panic and she looked up. Hope filled her and her lungs unfroze. Panting, she watched as Alpha-Leader carefully leaned over the ledge and looked down at her. Blue crouched next to him and chirruped encouragements to her. Her leaders would save her.

She whined as she slowly stood up. Her hip burned unhappily, but she refused to die in this pit.

"Easy girl. We'll get you out." Alpha-Leader started looking around the area. His eyes focused on something in the distance. His expression softened as he looked down at her again. "Be right back." He turned and disappeared from her view. Blue swiftly stood upright and then jumped back as part of the ledge gave way next to her.

Delta coughed as gritty soil collapsed around her. She started to twist her torso to fling the soil off when sharp claws twisted in her hips and she froze. The pain slowly numbed and Delta carefully straightened out, choosing to ignore the layer of dirt tickling her skin and irritating open wounds.

More loose soil cascaded around her as lumbering footfalls slowly drew nearer. A warning hiss from Beta-Leader was followed by a loud growl. Both demanding the other to back off. Injured as she is, Delta crouched lower in the hole as fear of the strange wannabe leader-of-the-pack predator drew close.

Bossy-Bully peeked over the edge at her. The predator's large eyes narrow and she barked a dismissive _Idiot_ before turning away. She can hear the massive carnivore continue to rumble irritably. Angry that Delta was too stupid not to see the hole in the ground. Her head ducked down even more. She had never seen such a large hole before, how should she have known to watch out for such a thing?

Something heavy scraped the ground above her. Soft, rhythmic footsteps bring it closer to her. She can hear Alpha-Leader's voice, calm and reassuring. She greets him with a happy trill and then his head pops over the ledge.

"Hey Delta, I've got something for you." Alpha-Leader is lowering part of a tree into the hole. It's barely thicker than her forearm. She gapes at him briefly, what's she supposed to do with this?

She can hear him sigh overhead. "Delta, eyes on me." She looks up, waiting. "Step up." He taps the tree. Is he crazy?

She barks at him. _I can't_.

"You can do it Delta. Come on girl. Step up." His eyes are bright with confidence. He believes in her.

Stepping onto the tree she can feel the wood give slightly under her weight. The climb is steep and difficult. She has to grab the tree with tooth and foreclaw to reduce the strain on her hips as she slowly ascends. Her hips still burn with every step she takes. Amazingly the tree continues to hold her weight as she nears the top.

Whimpering, she makes it out of the hole. Alpha-Leader and Blue stand side by side watching as she regains her breath, Charlie peeking over their shoulders.

She did it. She made it out of that death trap.

Echo chirrups a happy greeting. Delta turns slowly and sees her sister's eyes widen. Echo stalks closer, trilling in concern. Whimpering, _it hurts_ , and pointing to her hips with her snout is all takes to for Echo to come all the way over and offer comfort. Her gentle tongue massages the aching area and soothes some of the pain.

A loud crackle echoes across the region, an amplified voice calls out in Alpha-Leaders odd language. A roar blasts through the air, drowning out the voice. A moment later Bossy-Bully charged towards the source. Delta followed at a more sedate pace with the rest of the pack, ignoring her aching joints.

* * *

Unknown's voice was coming from the other side of the wall. It was hiding out of her reach. Snarling, she paced in front of the strong clear barrier. She could see the little prey creatures staring at her.

Something was wrong.

Stopping, she carefully examined the area. The small-wall-that-opens was open, taunting her. She tried to shove her snout through the opening to widen it but it held fast, bruising her nose. Growling low in her throat she clawed at the opening, pulling on the wall. Nothing.

She pulled harder, putting all of her weight into it. A series of small cracks resounded, but the wall held. She let go and stepped back, examining her work. The wall showed no signs of breaking that she could see. Maybe the damage was on the inside. There was no way for her to know if she had made any progress in breaking down the wall.

Movement in her peripherals distracted her. One of the small predators was approaching at a leisurely trot. It slowed as it neared her. Looking around she noticed the rest of the pack approaching. The small pack creature was staring curiously at the door.

She lunged forward, grabbed it by the tail and flung it away from the small-wall-that-opens. It screamed as it flew through the air. It couldn't be allowed near the opening, Unknown was trying to lure her pack away. The opening was large enough for the smaller predators to pass through unhindered.

 _Back off!_

The pack stopped at when she snapped at it. Foolish-Rebel hissed, moving between her and the small predator she had tossed; the little troublemaker. Trouble was on its feet again and slinking over to where Rebel and the other little predators stood watching her. She snarled at the pack and they all shifted back, watching her warily.

Not far enough.

Growling low in her throat she slowly approached the pack making sure to stay between them and the hole in the wall. _Back off!_

Rebel took one step back; eyes flicking between her, the hole in the wall, and the prey creatures gathered behind the strong clear barrier. It crossed its arms as its narrowed eyes lingered on the prey creatures, head shaking back and forth.

Anger built up and she let out a full throated roar. As the sound faded she snapped her teeth at the pack in warning. Rebel quickly hobbled out of her way, the pack followed. Her head lifted as she contemplated the pack before her. They all followed Rebel, so if she moved Rebel then the whole pack would follow.

She leapt forward, snapping her hand around Rebel before any of the pack could fully process her maneuver. Foolish-Rebel snarled but she didn't wait for the biter to attack. She pushed herself faster as she entered the foliage. She couldn't stick Rebel in the hole. It was clever and had taught its pack members how to get out. They could free Rebel and the hole was too small to stick all of the small pack predators into it.

She would have to leave the pack far from the hole in the wall with orders to stay. If they disobeyed her, then she would deal with them at that time. She dropped Rebel into the waterhole. It gave a startled yelp and swam to the far shore. She heard leaves rustling as the rest of the pack arrived.

Foolish-Rebel, the little Biter, popped out of the brush and darted to Rebel's side. It chirruped a greeting and sought reassurance that Rebel was in one piece. All of the little pack predators joined Rebel and Biter, keeping an eye on her movements. Good, they should respect her power.

 _Stay here._

The pack looked up at her snarl. Idiot, Trouble and Brown One all slunk down submissively. Biter and Rebel eyed her with defiance in their stance. They were stubborn like that. As long as they stayed, she would work on their full submission later. She snarled one more time at the pack.

Turning back, she jogged to where the wall gaped open. Too small for her but too big to leave as is. She used her massive weight to tear down a few trees. She piled them up against the open wall and added dirt and small bushes for good measure. It was only after she had blocked the hole that she meandered back to her pack.

* * *

A/N: I suddenly and inexplicably despise this story… but I really do _not_ want to leave it incomplete. All previous chapters have had some editing/rewriting, some a lot more than others. No critical changes so you don't have to reread anything. Just found myself hating the writing in certain sections and so it had to change in order for me to continue writing.


	9. Chapter 9

Jurassic World quote: "That thing out there, that's no dinosaur." – Owen Grady

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

Owen was small on the screen, but it was definitely him. There was a raptor right next to him as he had limped into view of their temporary camera. People were talking, excited. He was walking in the midst of prehistoric predators and they were not attacking.

Whoever made that comment spoke too soon. The indominus rex lunged at Owen and grabbed him before he could even attempt to avoid her. Her jaw dropped as the large predator dashed out of the clearing with angry raptors giving chase.

She couldn't breathe.

They had moved out the line of sight for the video camera. She turned her attention to the thermographic footage and hoped that they stayed within its range. A hope that was quickly crushed as the indominus continued swiftly out of view. She really missed having cameras that covered the entire paddock.

Did they find Owen alive after two days only for him to die?

 _No_. Until they had proof that he was dead she was going to treat the situation like he was still alive. They were not going to lose Owen. He had made it two days; he could hang on a little longer. He had his raptors with him now and they seemed very happy to have found their trainer. They wouldn't let the indominus kill him.

She ignored the little voice that said the indominus had thrown one raptor like it was a small nuisance and another was moving too slow.

* * *

Leader dripped water everywhere as he stared after the departing Thief. She had trapped their pack in her territory. Demanded their compliance, it rubbed Blue as wrong. She wasn't going to let any of them go, even if she had to kill them to keep them.

Blue glanced over to where Charlie was licking the torn flesh on her tail. Delta whimpered as she stiffly moved closer. Echo shadowed Delta, occasionally supporting the injured raptor. Even Blue was hurting all over from her unpleasant encounters with Thief.

Leader had stumbled into a danger too great for the pack to safely deal with. She had to keep a close eye on Leader in case he found more trouble. Looking at the pack she could understand why Leader kept trying to get them to stay away from the big predator. Something was wrong with Thief's mind.

She wasn't part of their pack but she was determined that the pack belonged with her. Now Blue needed to figure out not only how to save Leader from the dangers he walked into but she also needed to rescue the entire pack from Thief.

Leader groaned as his stance relaxed. His arms moved up to shield his chest, slow and stiff. The whole pack was slowly dying in here.

She shifted closer to Leader as he examined the pack. His eyes narrowed as he frowned at Delta. Sighing, Leader closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. When he opened them again his eyes took in their surroundings. He relaxed slightly as he focused on the waterhole.

Blue hissed as Leader strode into the water until he was nearly submerged. Charlie looked up from her wounds and screeched in surprise when she saw Leader. Delta groaned and leaned into Echo.

"Blue." She returned her focus to Leader; his hand was up and beckoning for her to come closer. It was an old command, one she had not seen since she had been very small. He was crazy. Anything could be hiding in that water. Leader could be in danger.

Blue paced back and forth along the waterline and hissed at Leader. _Get out._

He ignored her and signaled for her to join him again. He _smiled_. Leader had the gall to smile when anything could be lurking in the water with him. He gently splashed the water, calming talking to her.

He was going to die.

She had to save him from his own stupidity. She stepped into the water and her foot tingled as the moisture sent a chill through her. Her muscles tensed as she prepared for something to attack her. A dark blur whizzed by her, splashing water everywhere. Blue screamed as she leapt for the safety of dry land.

Looking at the pool from a safe distance she saw Charlie chirruping away, _fun-fun-fun_ , as she bobbed her head in and out of the water a few feet from Leader. His was gaping at Charlie as she played. This was bad. Now she had two pack members trying to get killed.

Leader remained frozen for only a second before he cautiously began chatting to Charlie, trying to calm the excited raptor. Neither of them showed any inclination to get back to safety. Charlie submerged completely as Blue hissed at them. Charlie and Leader were ignoring her.

She growled and snapped at them from the safety of the shore. Leader glanced at her briefly before focusing on Charlie again. She snarled.

Snapping upright, Charlie tilted her head and churred at Leader, still ignoring Blue. He had an almost grin and bright eyes as he slowly moved closer to Charlie. They were not paying attention to the danger they were in. Her eyes widened as Echo stepped into the water beside her. She snapped her teeth and snarled. Echo yelped and dodged away… into deeper water.

Did the whole pack want to die? Blue hissed at Leader. _Get out! Get everyone out!_

He didn't even look at her. Echo trilled while splashing in the water. _Water feels nice._

No one was listening to her. She would have to drive them out of the water and to safer ground. Looking over she saw Delta lying curled up in the grass and moaning in pain. She showed no inclination to endanger herself like the others. At least one other member of the pack retained their sanity.

Blue tentatively stepped into the water, muscles quivering in anticipation of an attack. She would have to go into the deep water to reach the insane pack members. She could see Leader cleaning Charlie, a small piece of changeable skin in one hand as his other rubbed soothing circles across her haunches under the water. He was especially focused on her injured tail. She could hear him chattering away in his soothing, _be calm_ , voice.

Chuffing unhappily, Blue moved into the dangerous depths of the pool. Leader looked at her and smiled.

"Hey Blue. See? The water's not so bad."

She snarled at her insane pack members. _Out!_

Leader looked at her with serious eyes. "Easy."

The water was creeping up her neck now that she was only a few paces away from Leader. She growled at them and Charlie turned to look at her. Leader focused his attention completely on Blue. She snapped her teeth at him. "Hey!" the sharp reprimand startled Blue slightly and she shifted her weight back. "Don't give me that. You're okay."

Leader had lost his mind.

 _Out!_ Charlie and Echo swiftly departed for safer shores and away from Blue's sharp teeth. Leader simply looked at her contemplatively. She was not going to let his insanity spread any farther. Reaching forward she snagged Leader's changeable skin on his arm with her teeth before he could dodge. His eyes widened as she pulled him towards the shore.

She ignored his protests, clenching the odd skin tightly to prevent his escape as he pulled against her. The water got shallower quickly as they neared the edge of the waterhole. A few more tugs and they were both safely out of the water. She did not let go of Leader lest he return to the water to trifle with danger.

Her sides heaved as she huffed from the exertion of dragging Leader to safety. He scowled at her for a moment while tugging at his trapped skin, then his face softened into a grin and he started teasing her. She could hear the amusement lilting his voice. She growled and let go of his skin.

Her aversion to potentially dangerous waterholes was not funny. She was the sane one here.

She made sure to stand between Leader and the waterhole. He was not going back in there. His eyes sparkled as he stood before her. His eyes flitted between her and the water behind her. The amusement in his eyes dimmed and he removed the skins protecting his feet and dumped out water before replacing them. He let out a heavy breath and then gave serious attention to the pack.

Leader slowly turned away from the water and made his way over to Delta. He approached her slowly, calm talking the whole way. Blue followed right behind him, her nose inches from his back. He crouched down to Delta and let her sniff him as he continued to chatter soothingly. Blue watched as he gently ran his hand down Delta side, fingers lingering near her open wounds without touching them and eyes watching the injured raptor closely. Leader's legs muscles were tense and ready to move quickly.

He was doing a wound check, assessing the damage from their fights so he could help them heal. Normally they had to stand in the tight space when he did a wound check, but she recognized the way his hand gently sought out any painful areas as he moved around Delta. He would make the pack well again.

But it always took time for the deep hurts to heal completely.

Delta swiveled her head around and snapped her teeth at Leader as he touched her haunches. He immediately jumped back, right into Blue's side. She grunted as his weight smacked into her bruised ribs and hissed a warning at Delta. Delta's eyes widened and she tucked her head into her chest. Leader regained his feet and gave Blue a wary look.

Delta gave a small whine and Leader focused on her again. He moved forward, his voice soft and gentle as he neared Delta. He took the wet changeable skin out of his back pouch and carefully draped it over Delta's hip. Blue watched as her sister relaxed and Leader stiffly continued his examination of her wounds.

Leader shifted away from Delta with a frown. His eyes scanned over the rest of the pack and he shifted on his feet. Blue started as the ground shuddered under her feet.

Bossy-Bully Thief was coming. Her skin prickled as she shifted nervously closer to Leader. She heard his breathing shorten as he stiffly turned to watch for Thief.

* * *

The indominus rex had just buried the open door. Her behavior was like nothing he had ever seen before. Barry hoped that her erratic behavior wasn't a prelude to Owen's death. She seemed to be aggressively possessive of the velociraptor pack.

Raised in isolation, she had never seen other dinosaurs before. He was surprised she hadn't killed them. It didn't help that they had very limited information on her genetic makeup. Her base genome was tyrannosaurus rex and according to the Jurassic World website - he had looked her up - she also had traits from at least five other dinosaurs. That was a lot of different potential behavioral traits to potentially possess. They had no way to predict what she was likely to do next.

To get the raptors out of the enclosure they would need to open the gate since the door was blocked off. Which meant they needed to fully sedate the indominus rex and the velociraptors. The only way they could sedate the raptors without using a lethal dose was if they had Owen distribute treats laced with sedative. That would only work if Owen was still alive.

According to the three working velociraptor trackers, they were hanging out on the far side of the paddock. Two were moving around while the third, Delta, remained stationary. He was worried about Delta. She was hurting but had no obvious wound on her hindquarters to account for the way she moved.

He was fairly certain that Owen was still alive. The raptors had sought him out, traveled across the restricted area and found him. If Owen had been killed by the indominus rex he was sure that the raptors would have reacted, violently.

* * *

Her tail wasn't stinging as badly as it had been before she had joined Alpha-Leader in the water. Not that they had much time to enjoy its cool depths with Blue's grumpy attitude. Her tail still pulsated uncomfortably every time she let it sway behind her.

Charlie snarled at Bossy-Bully as she emerged from the trees while slinking to a spot behind Alpha-Leader and Beta-Leader. She peaked around them and watched the dangerous predator. She did not want Bossy-Bully in their pack. But Bossy-Bully was bigger than the whole pack combined and thought she was part of the pack.

Bossy-Bully growled painfully loud. She was mad.

Charlie ducked completely behind her leaders and whined. Her tail throbbed as a reminder of the power Bossy-Bully possessed. Blue stood tall and stiff next to Alpha-Leader, both were between the rest of the pack and Bossy-Bully.

Beta-Leader hissed in warning as Bossy-Bully approached and Alpha-Leader tensed, she could actually hear his teeth grinding together. Echo moved forward and stood on the other side of Alpha-Leader as the predator drew close to them. Charlie's tail ached as she moved to the other side of Beta-Leader. Delta hissed as she rose to her feet. Charlie watched as her sister limped over to stand between Alpha-Leader and Echo.

Bossy-Bully examined the pack standing before her, eyes narrowed and muscles taut. Her head dipped lower and she gave an inquisitive chuff. Blue shifted next to her, subtly sidling closer to Alpha-Leader. Charlie had no idea how Alpha-Leader had survived with Bossy-Bully without the pack watching his back.

Alpha-Leader was glaring at Bossy-Bully. She heard him inhale a large breath and let it out slowly. He relaxed as he exhaled and quickly assessed the pack. Blue bristled as Bossy-Bully invaded the pack's space.

"Easy Blue." Alpha-Leader's voice was strained and he only glanced briefly at Blue before he focused on the large predator hoovering over them again. Blue trilled to Alpha-Leader. _Attack?_

Alpha-Leader glanced at Blue and gently shook his head. _No._

Bossy-Bully growled low in her throat, eyes focused on the pack leaders. Charlie hunkered down and fought the strong desire to run for her life at Bossy-Bully's aggressive stance. Her muscles quivered as she battled her fear. A quick glance to Blue's steady figure strengthened her resolve. The pack would face this threat together.

Bossy-Bully snarled at the pack. _Mine. Belong with me._

Blue rumbled angrily and Alpha-Leader twitched. "Hey! Hey." His eyes were on Blue. "Easy. You're okay." Alpha-Leader chattered on in his _be calm_ voice. Blue snarled and prepared to take on Bossy-Bully. "Hey!" Blue started at the reprimand. "What did I just say?"

Charlie watched as Alpha-Leader shifted, heavily favoring his left leg. She had noticed he had a limp but had given it little thought. Now her tail throbbed in sympathy and she glanced nervously at Bossy-Bully. She had forced Alpha-Leader to submit to her, now she had the whole pack. Bossy-Bully could kill the pack easily if she wanted. Alpha-Leader was trying to keep the pack, Blue in particular, from antagonizing Bossy-Bully into killing them.

Blue settled back, grumbling quietly as Bossy-Bully gave a satisfied snort. Bossy-Bully relaxed, laid down and chuffed at Alpha-Leader. _Rub me_.

Alpha-Leader stiffened and Blue growled. He breathed deep and forcefully relaxed on the exhale. He calm called to the pack. Bossy-Bully narrowed her eyes and repeated her command. _Rub me_.

* * *

The meeting that had taken place between park management, ACU, velociraptor handlers, indominus rex handlers, veterinarians and maintenance personnel had been full of arguments and problems. Every potential solution raised more complications. Everyone agreed that the indominus rex was the biggest problem.

The indominus rex was a 26 million dollar asset that the park needed alive and healthy. The velociraptors had sought out Owen and found him. It was hoped that meant they wouldn't kill him. But there was no way to be sure that the aggressive predators would let him live either. They could potentially kill him accidentally.

Lucas felt inadequate as the head of the raptor program. He had only been brought in last night and didn't know what to expect behavior wise of the velociraptors. He had relied heavily on Barry when questions about the raptors had risen.

Preparations were taking place to orally sedate the dinosaurs. The veterinarians were preparing a large dose to hopefully take down the indominus rex and smaller doses for the velociraptors. The indominus's sedative was being attached to a goat and a metal box would have meat laced with sedative for the raptors. Owen had already survived through a few indominus rex feeding times and the raptors seemed to be complacent around him. Even Blue had calmly stood next to Owen and she had to be very hungry unless she had killed something and eaten it during their time running through the restricted area of the island.

If the sedative failed to complete incapacitate the indominus then ACU was preparing to go in. If she wasn't down forty minutes after she consumed it then she wouldn't be going down by oral sedation alone. There had been large debates about ACU entering the paddock with the indominus still on her feet. The indominus had blocked off the best entrance for the troops and park management was hesitant to open the gate and potentially let out a very dangerous dinosaur. ACU would have to climb down the walls to get in the paddock while snipers covered their descent from the top of the cement wall.

Lucas really hoped it wouldn't come to that. They would be very vulnerable as they descended and they would have no means of escape if they were unsuccessful in subduing her. The plan assumed Owen was still alive and capable of feeding the raptors their sedative laced treats. No one wanted to talk about the possibility that he wasn't.

* * *

Blue was growling as she shifted side to side. She was keeping a close eye on Alpha-Leader rubbing Bossy-Bully's jaw. Blue had lost another fight to the massive predator. Echo made sure to keep her distance from Beta-Leader as she fidgeted.

With Bossy-Bully relaxing, Delta had laid back down moaning in agony. Echo made sure that she could see the injured raptor as she examined the foliage around the waterhole.

A crackly voice disrupted the pseudo peace. It only spoke a few words before all was quiet again. Bossy-Bully growled and Alpha-Leader hobbled back a few paces before he was blocked by her hand. His face turned almost white and he grimaced as he watched Bossy-Bully's face. She continued to grumble but the crackly voice did not sound again.

Bossy-Bully was about to settle back down when a strange cry sounded in the distance. Echo searched for what had made the noise but couldn't see anything. A mechanical whirring started and the cry came again. She wasn't sure what it was that she was hearing, but she wanted to hunt it.

Bossy-Bully stood up, eyes focused on something through the trees. Echo huffed and moved out of the large predator's space. She didn't want to be mauled.

Blue chirruped when Alpha-Leader moved back from Bossy-Bully, moving to greet him once he was far enough away. Echo joined them, careful to stay out of range of Blue's teeth. Blue was scolding Alpha-Leader for letting Thief steal him. He was looking Blue in the eye; brow rising as she chittered on.

Bossy-Bully barked at the pack, calling for their attention. Blue quieted and glared at Bossy-Bully. The large predator ignored Blue and called for a hunt, she would lead them. Blue snarled until Alpha-Leader barked at her.

Echo was surprised when Alpha-Leader signaled for Blue and herself to play the herding game. It was unclear what they were herding, she heard no sign of the pink squealing animal, but she was pretty sure Alpha-Leader wanted them to herd _something_ to Bossy-Bully. When Blue bobbed her head in compliance Alpha-Leader's shoulders relaxed slightly.

She darted into the foliage as soon as Alpha-Leader signaled for them to begin. She could see Blue running beside her, hissing unhappily. Loud footsteps followed them. The quicker they herded whatever animal they could find the faster they could return to the rest of the pack, the lame ones.

Thoughts of something coming in to kill the injured pack members almost stopped her in her tracks. Thunderous footsteps kept her going. The largest threat to the pack was hunting with her right now.

Up ahead she could smell the flesh of a strange prey animal. She and Blue circled around it. They would drive it straight into Bossy-Bully's mouth if they had to. Then they would return to the pack.

She moved in unison with Blue towards the animal. When they emerged from the underbrush it screamed and took off to the side. Blue darted to cut it off only to have the animal spin and run between them. Echo raced to cut off its escape and it managed to avoid her. The agile animal refused to be herded.

* * *

At Alpha-Leaders direction, Blue and Echo raced towards the noises being made by the unfamiliar animal. Bossy-Bully snarled and raced after them. Charlie stood just behind Alpha-Leader, whining on and on about her injured tail. The high pitched keening was annoying.

Delta whimpered as a sharp pain tore through her hips again. Carefully twisting her head around she snuffled into the damp changeable skin that lay across her hindquarters. When Alpha-Leader had first lain it out the changeable skin had been pleasantly cool. Now it was warm.

"Delta. Charlie. Eyes on me." At the familiar command her eyes snapped up to Alpha-Leader. There was no click to acknowledge her. Alpha-Leader hadn't made any clicking noises since they had found him. She watched as Alpha-Leader signaled for them to follow him. Delta moaned and let her head flop on the ground where she laid, her eyes closed as she groaned. Moving hurt too much.

She heard the soft-hard footfalls of Alpha-Leader draw near and Charlie whimpering sympathetically nearby. Alpha-Leader chattered softly to her, his calm voice helped ease some of her nervous tension. He stopped a short ways from her and she opened her eyes to see what Alpha-Leader intended to do.

She hadn't really looked at Alpha-Leader since they found him, but now she could see that he was in poor health. His face was pale and his muscles shook minutely as he stood mostly on his right leg. The whites of his eyes had a red tinge and the skin beneath them was dark. She wasn't the only member of the pack in danger of dying.

He glanced around the area and gently spoke to her. Telling her she had done a good job. His eyes were full of sorrow and exhaustion. He looked into the trees where Echo, Blue and Bossy-Bully had disappeared. His shoulders sagged and then rose stiffly. Alpha-Leader's eyes filled with resolve. He spoke again telling her to stay, promising to return. He turned and hobbled after the healthy pack members.

Charlie whined, glancing indecisively between Delta and Alpha-Leader. If Alpha-Leader refused to lie down from his hurts then she would get up and walk with him. Delta pushed past the burning pain that flared as she forced herself to stand. Hissing in pain, she began stiffly walking after Alpha-Leader. Charlie trilled happily as she joined them.

Alpha-Leader turned and looked at her. His eyes lit up and his lips tugged upward. He greeted them and then continued through the brush. His steps were just a little lighter and energetic.

Every step was its own burning agony, but she refused to be left behind. Left to die.

They slowly made their way through the vegetation. She could hear Blue's frustrated exclamations and Echo's squawks of dismay as they chased something. Bossy-Bully occasionally growled at the apparently failing game. Delta worried that Alpha-Leader was going to ask her to join them. The pain was subdued now that she had been walking for a bit, but it was not gone.

Alpha-Leader led their small group around the herding game action. Delta flinched when Bossy-Bully roared angrily. The game was not going well. Alpha-Leader stopped and peered through the trees towards the sound, grumbling unhappily. He continued to chatter irritably as he resumed walking.

Light reflecting off a smooth surface in the big clearing ahead caught Delta's attention. She trilled in excitement and walked a little faster to investigate the shiny object, ignoring the flare of pain at her accelerated gait. The object was a metal box that smelled of tantalizing meat treats. Hunger gripped her and her jaws opened wide to snap up the box. It refused to crush between her teeth and her jaw ached from holding it.

She dropped the box on the ground and searched it for any weaknesses or openings. She could smell the meat; she just needed a way to reach it.

Blue screeching a short ways away distracted her investigation briefly. An animal screaming was abruptly ended with a crunch of bones and a satisfied rumble from Bossy-Bully. The game was done.

Delta rolled the box under her claws. A small crack separated one side of the box. She could slip the tip of her claw beneath it but the box refused to open.

Charlie sidled up to the box and Delta hissed a warning. Charlie stepped a little closer and Delta lurched at her, teeth bared. Charlie jumped out of range, yelping in pain. Delta's hips burned angrily at the movement and she snarled at Charlie.

Blue darted out of the nearby bushes and skid to a stop beside Delta. Blue snarled at Delta, forcing her away from the box. Snapped out of her explorations of the treat container she heard Alpha-Leader's voice. She swiveled her head around to look at him. Alpha-Leader was glaring at her and his voice was agitated. She had a feeling that Alpha-Leader had been speaking at her for some time.

Blue snapped at her again and Delta lowered her head and backed away a few steps.

"Hey! Easy Blue. Delta, back off." Alpha-Leader limped-walked over to the box. "Charlie. Echo. I see you. Stay right there." He approached Blue with his hands out in his stay-back, give-me-space cue. "Okay Blue, back up." Blue huffed and stood tall. She trilled and cocked her head at Alpha-Leader.

Thundering footsteps approached and Blue backed up a few steps. "That's it. I've got something for you. But you've got to stay back." Alpha-Leader glanced towards the sound. Blue chirruped encouragement, she wanted her treat before Bossy-Bully could steal it. So did Delta. Alpha-Leader took the last step to the box and opened it, watching the pack.

"Okay." He pulled out a chunk of tasty meat. Delta held still, waiting. "Charlie, that's for you." He tossed it to Charlie and then grabbed another piece of meat from the box. "Echo, there you go." Her piece would be next. Delta's muscles quivered in anticipation as he pulled out her treat. "Delta, that's a good girl."

The meat was tender and sweet. It was quickly devoured.

She heard Alpha-Leader give Blue her treat. Delta eyed the box Alpha-Leader was holding. He eyed her back and casually tossed the box away. Delta moved to go after it when Bossy-Bully emerged from the trees. She snarled at the pack, eyeing each member before growling at them all. _Move._

Delta was quick to comply with the massive predator. Her hips flared in agony as she jogged with the pack. Echo was keeping pace with her, chirruping encouragement. Even Alpha-Leader was doing a hop-skip-jump to keep up. She could hear him chattering angrily while sending the occasional glare at Bossy-Bully. Blue kept close to his side. Charlie led them on an overgrown path as Bossy-Bully chased them into the woods.

* * *

She drove the pack back to her nest. Her tongue pushed against the roof of her mouth as she tried to get rid of the strange aftertaste the fluffy prey animal had left in her mouth. She briefly contemplated snatching up one of the pack and letting their blood drown out the flavor.

No.

Pack hunt together, they don't hunt each other.

Her stomach was pleasantly full anyways. She glanced at her pack. Brown One scurried around Idiot, chirruping encouragement to it. Biter and Rebel remained side by side as Trouble followed close behind them. She snarled as she watched Biter and Rebel together. Rebel was her first pack. She would not let Biter steal away her first pack.

She lunged forward, teeth bared at Biter. Rebel yelped, hop-jumping away while Biter hissed aggressively, preparing to fight again. Biter was a very slow learner and her jaws almost closed around her small body, Biter barely managed to evade her teeth.

The small pack animals screeched at her and Rebel chattered angrily. Biter was warily watching her from a short distance. Far enough that Biter would have time to get out of the way if she attacked again.

Growling, she swept up the much slower Rebel. It chattered unhappily as it squirmed within her grasp. Biter snarled at her but stopped her slow advance at a bark from Rebel. Biter growled before backing off and joining the rest of the small pack predators.

Rebel slowly stopped struggling in her hand. Instead it simply watched her, head tilted slightly to the side. A strange tingle swept down her spine to the tip of her tail. The twinge remained in her muscles. Snarling, she leaned into the thick trunk of a nearby tree and shifted back and forth to sooth her back. Wood snapped and crackled under her weight. She nearly collapsed when the tree fell beneath her.

Her back felt slightly better but it still tingled. She looked down at Rebel, its face had paled and its breath came out in a wheeze. It had closed its eyes. She chuffed at Rebel and gently pressed the side of her snout against its head. Its eyes snapped open and it froze completely.

Balancing her weight as she leaned down with her free hand pressed into the dirt, she lowered her head and pushed her hand with Rebel up to the crest of her neck. Her grip on it loosened as she let her claws scratch her tingling muscles. She could feel Rebel clambering across her neck. She wanted Rebel to move down to her back where she couldn't reach but it had stopped moving once it had reached the very back of her neck.

She raised her head high and shook slightly. Rebel squawked and moved down until it was sitting between her shoulders. Her head swiveled around until she could see Rebel. It was staring at her with narrow eyes and its teeth ground together.

She crooned at it. _Rub me_.

Its eyes widened slightly before its brows crinkled together. Rebel looked skyward for a second before leaning forward and pressing its small hands into her back. The pressure was slight but it eased the twinge and sent a thrill of pleasure through her.

Her eyes widened and she snarled as tiny claws scraped against her haunches. She twisted around and snapped her teeth, just missing Trouble. The small predator joined Biter who was already out of her reach.

Rebel barked and Trouble yelped as she spun her whole body around. Rebel clung to her back as Biter and Trouble climbed higher. She snarled and spun the other way. Rebel slipped to the side and Biter's claws dug into her back unpleasantly. She stopped briefly and the claws loosened their grasp. She huffed as the small pack animals joined Rebel high on her back. They were heavier than Rebel but did not hinder her either.

Her eyes blurred and her head drooped as a wave of exhaustion rolled through her. She shook her head and meandered over to the broken tree. She grasped a branch between her teeth and snapped it from the fallen trunk. Weight fell from her back and something yelped but it sounded muted and unimportant. Sticky liquid and wooden fibers stuck between her teeth as she gnawed through the wood.

Shadows shifted and she snapped her head around in an attempt to follow them. She nearly fell as her sluggish muscles barely balanced her shifting weight. Her eyes were dry and refused to focus. She let heavy eyelids drop and stood still. She jerked when her nose brushed against the dirt. Standing required too much energy.

Her body dropped to the ground. There was screeching and angry chattering as she shifted into a slightly more comfortable position. Her breathing evened out and she allowed tired muscles to relax.

* * *

They were too far into the woods to see the gate, but he hoped that the sleeping indominus rex indicated that he was about to be rescued. He couldn't see Delta and Echo from his perch on the indominus's back, but hoped that they were zonked out like Charlie and hadn't been trampled under the hybrid's feet.

Charlie had fallen off of the hybrid while she had been shredding the tree that she had knocked down earlier. He had been glad that Charlie had managed to drowsily get up and move away from large stumbling feet. Charlie had curled up out of the hybrid's way and did not appear to be suffering from any new injuries after she fell. Her tail was already in need of stiches from the indominus's teeth.

The whole pack was in poor shape.

He really needed something to eat and a good night's sleep. He was beyond exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He did not want to deal with anything. Yet, he wouldn't be able to sleep well until he received the all clear from the vet regarding his raptors' health.

A warm body bumped into his side. Groaning, he turned to look at Blue. He was so tired he couldn't even summon up the energy to be afraid even as sharp teeth flashed right in front of his face. Blue was refusing to go down all the way. Her body swayed from side to side and her tail was nearly dragging on the ground. Her head bobbed and jerked sporadically as she struggled to stay alert.

He let out a tired sigh and slid off the hybrid's back. Blue followed. Her sluggish reflexes weren't up to the task and she ended up rolling across the ground. She trilled groggily and stumbled upright. A hint of a smile crossed his face at her determination. He frowned a moment later as he realized that she could present a danger to any rescue efforts.

They could even be waiting for Blue to go all the way down before they entered… but depending on how hard she fought the drugs, she might not go all the way to sleep. Oral sedatives were less reliable in successfully sedating animals. He had no idea how large the dose was that they had given the indominus rex, but it must have been a lot. He was just glad that she had fallen asleep along with most of the raptors.

Blue slowly sidled up to him. He extended his right hand, silently asking for permission to touch her. He watched her eye focus on his appendage and then blink as she tilted her head in acquiescence. He gently rubbed under her throat; the motions were familiar and soothing. Blue leaned into his touch and stepped on his good foot.

"Hey! Blue. Get off." He shoved against her leaning body. Instead of complying she pushed into him even more. He nearly fell as he was forced to brace himself with his bad foot. "Blue!" Pain surged through his ankle. Gritting his teeth he leaned into Blue and stood on his pinned foot. The pain dulled and slowly vanished as he rested his left leg.

Blue gave a sleepy chirrup, yawned and then rested her chin on his shoulder. Her jaw bone dug into sore muscles as she rested her heavy head on him. Owen groaned and let his head droop, right into Blue's cheek.

"Owen." He looked up at the sound of his name. Barry was smiling at him as he approached with the ACU troopers and a few of their IBRIS program staff. Blue opened tired eyes and growled right into Owen's ear. Barry's smile faded and he stopped with the troopers, eyeing Blue warily. The velociraptor personnel were carrying raptor hobbles and hoods.

"Owen, if we leave the hobbles here and back off, do you think you could restrain Blue?"

Blue's head lifted slightly, but remained on his shoulder, as her growl transformed into an angry hiss. Owen groaned as she pressed more heavily on his foot. He imagined they made quite the picture right now leaning on each other for support.

"Not when she's standing on my foot. Toss them here and we'll see."

Barry's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? No, don't answer that…"

Owen interrupted, "She's drugged and barely on her feet right now." The troopers were shifting uneasily, weapons pointed at the ground for the moment. They probably would have darted Blue if he wasn't right next to her.

Barry sighed and then tossed the hobbles over. Blue whipped around and tried to catch the projectiles. All she managed to do was knock a set of hobbles to the ground with her cheek as her teeth snapped on air. Her motion unbalanced her and she stumbled off his foot. He barely managed to catch his balance without Blue supporting him.

Hissing at the pain from using his bad foot, again, Owen retrieved the restraints from the ground. Blue's eyes blinked slowly as she swayed on her feet. He purposely ignored their audience and called out reassurances to Blue as he approached her. He let her see the restraints, objects that she was familiar with, before gently attaching them. Blue trilled and leaned into him. Her weight made it more difficult to secure everything but he managed.

Once he confirmed success there was a flurry of movement. The other handlers tracked down the rest of the velociraptors and restrained the sleeping dinosaurs. Radio chatter filled the air and numerous conversations swirled around him. He stopped trying to follow any of them as his head ached from the effort. He stood awkwardly in the middle of chaos with a velociraptor leaning against him.

Motion near the sleeping indominus drew his attention. A veterinarian and support staff were checking her vitals. The vet grabbed a vial and filled a large syringe with a clear liquid. His hand pressed against the predator's jugular vein and then he slipped the needle in and injected her.

A heavy duty truck pulling a stock trailer drove through the brush and stopped next to Echo and Delta. Barry helped the men carefully loaded a sleeping Echo into the trailer. As they went to retrieve Delta he warned them to be extra careful. The raptor had injured something in her haunches, he didn't want them doing further damage. Once both raptors were in they pulled the trailer up to Charlie and loaded her up, careful of her gouged tail.

He could hear other vehicles moving about the paddock, although no more appeared in the immediate area. The truck and trailer wove through the trees to turn around before returning to where Owen stood with Blue. Barry joined him hesitantly. Blue hardly twitched as they maneuvered her over to the back of the trailer. A few men helped lift the sleepy raptor into the straw bedding in the trailer.

He heard more than a few people sigh once the raptor had curled up in the straw. The trailer closed with a metallic creak and Owen quickly hobbled over to the front passenger seat. He was going with his girls. He only met a token protest, something about sending him to the small hospital on the island.

Not happening.

At least, not until his girls were given the okay by the vet.

As the truck approached the gate Owen could see construction crews working hard to remove a large pile of trees and other debris from where the door into the paddock was located. He didn't want to think about what that destruction meant. He was _done_ dealing with the indominus rex.

The drive back to the raptor research arena was relaxing and Owen drifted off a few times before jerking back awake. There were medical teams waiting for them.

As soon as he exited the truck, an overeager medic began hounding him. Trying to drag him away from his girls to be poked and prodded. Not even his sternest glare and adamant refusal could complete dissuade the medic. The kid frowned and followed him.

By the time he made it to the back of the trailer his girls were already unloaded and being treated by their vet. Dr. Peters was busy cleaning the gashes in Charlie's tail while his support staff cleaned the rest of the pack. As he hoovered nearby he could feel hands pulling on him and voices buzzing around him. He barely noted the medics trying to get a response out of him as he watched the sleeping velociraptors.

Barry was talking to the vet, letting him know that Delta was lame. He sent a technician to retrieve more equipment from his truck. The vet moved methodically as he continued to treat the pack of injured velociraptors.

Dr. Peters was giving Charlie a shot of antibiotics when someone mentioned the indominus rex. He focused on the information, dreading that the hybrid had woken up and escaped through the open gate. Instead, they were informed that repairs at paddock 11 were finished and the gate was secured. A weight fell off his shoulders at the news.

* * *

A/N: The end - sort of.

Just the Epilogue left.

In case you were wondering if my dislike of this story caused me to shorten it, the answer is no. This has been outlined from the start all the way through the epilogue. It was extremely frustrating to be so close to the end and then unable to even look at the story for a period of time. If anything my dislike for this story lengthened it with extra raptor shenanigans because, even if I don't care for the story itself, the raptors are fun.


	10. Epilogue

Jurassic World quote: "Jurassic World exists to remind us how very small we actually are." – Mr. Masrani

Warning: _VERY_ open ended and I am not writing a sequel. Also, I'm not very nice to the characters (in case you hadn't already figured that out). If you want a happy and semi-resolved ending, you may want to consider Chapter 9 the end of 'The Cat and the Canary' and ignore this epilogue.

Disclaimer: Jurassic World is not mine.

* * *

Pain flashed through her skull and broke through her stupor. Her claws dug into the soil as her teeth ground together. A hiss escaped as she opened her eyes to the dying light of day. Foreign smells assaulted her nose.

Her body moved sluggishly and everything swirled together around her. She stood up and the world tilted. She threw her weight to the side in an attempt to stay upright. She crashed into the ground that had risen up and met her. She couldn't inhale and the world was black. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Where was her pack?

She couldn't feel their warmth anywhere. Her eyes shot open and she stumbled to her feet and managed to stay upright this time. She looked around the empty clearing. Nostrils flared as she failed to locate her pack. The foreign scents nearly overwhelmed her.

Intruders had stolen her pack.

A chill ran down her spine as breathing quickened. She needed her pack. Her surroundings faded as she focused on the scent trail of the intruders. It led to the suspicious wall. The intruders took her pack through the wall.

She would go through it too.

Sharp claws barely scratched the surface of the wall and she couldn't sink her teeth into it. Another swipe of her claws was cut short as the dark stripe that crisscrossed the wall caught the nails of her right hand. She snarled as she tugged harder on the stripe, hind legs digging into the ground as she leaned back. The stripe creaked and bent, the wall groaned and shifted minutely. A loud crack sounded and pain exploded through her. She fell back, roaring in agony.

The wall hurt her.

Bloody, broken nails pressed into the ground and the indominus pushed back up. She would not be beaten by this wall. She would find her pack.

Her jaws opened wide and she roared.

Charging forward she crashed into the suspicious wall. Her teeth and claws scraped against the barrier as she pushed her body against it. The wall groaned, small chunks crumbling to the ground. She pushed as hard as she could, yet the wall was not moved.

Growling, the indominus darted down her trail. When the vegetation thickened she stopped and turned to face the suspicious wall again.

She glared at the wall. She would defeat it.

Roaring another challenge to the wall, she charged forward. Racing as fast as she could before she collided with the suspicious wall.

Air shot out of her, the wall snapped and groaned as it gave beneath her mass. Pain engulfed her and the world turned black. She could hear the shouts of prey creatures as she lay on the leaning remains of the suspicious wall.

The crackling sound of Unknown's voice roused her from hazy thoughts. She growled.

Unknown had stolen her pack. She would destroy Unknown. She would destroy Unknown's pack.

As she rose from the suspicious wall something small bit into her sides repeatedly. Nuisances easily ignored.

She blinked and the black spots in her vision faded. She ignored the sharp pain in her skull. Through the gap in the wall she could see prey creatures attacking her with bite-throwing sticks. Rage flooded her veins and she pushed against the suspicious wall to widen the gap for her hindquarters to fit through.

She roared in agony as pain spiked through her back and limbs. She would not be beaten. Her pack needed her.

Hissing, she continued to push her way through the gaping wall. It groaned and cracked as it slowly moved further from the tall wall. Snarling, she pushed her way through the hole in the border of her territory.

The Biting Prey continued to attack her. She roared her acceptance of their challenge and lunged forward. Sweet blood coated her mouth as her teeth sunk deep into one prey creature's flesh. She chomped it a few times to ensure its death while twisting around and smacking another with her tail. She could hear it scream as it flew through the air.

Black spots dotted her vision. Anger strengthened her.

Tossing the corpse from her mouth she charged the two remaining Biting Prey. Their biting-sticks cracked loudly while they backed away too slowly to avoid her. She grabbed the left one and stomped the one on the right. Warm stickiness coated her foot. The one in her hand struggled futilely. She glanced around the area, but all the other prey creatures had hidden themselves. She could deal with them later.

She needed her pack.

She dropped the biting prey creature and squashed it.

Sniffing the air, she followed the smell of her pack to a well-formed trail. The smell of oil and burning stopped her short. This was Unknown's rocky trail.

Unknown was tricky. It had snatched her pack away. She needed to distract Unknown before rescuing them. She needed to stay off Unknown's paths until she had her pack.

They would destroy Unknown together.

She veered off the well-worn path and traveled for several minutes through overgrown terrain. She huffed out a breath and shook her head. The dull ache intensified to a sharp spike driving into her skull.

Grumbling angrily she tore into the flesh of her back, ripping out the device Unknown had placed there.

The flesh-coated object fell into thick bushes covering the ground. She circled back in the general direction of the well-worn path. Traveling alongside Unknown's well-worn path, she followed the scent trail of her pack.

She would kill anything in her way.

* * *

Vivian ground her teeth together in frustration as her call was instantly forwarded to the voicemail box. They really needed better cell phone reception in the northern stretches of the island. She hoped that Claire and her nephews remained safe.

They were headed out to the Raptor Arena which was miles from the loose indominus rex. The indominus hadn't moved for a while, the tranquilizer darts must have kicked in. She was only about three quarters of a mile from her paddock.

Commander Hamada was working overtime right now leading his troopers and a night shift troop to contain the indominus. Workers had been called in to ready the large dinosaur holding pen in the restricted zone. If everything went smoothly then the indominus rex would be contained within the hour.

Vivian crossed her fingers and hoped for the best. She would be putting in some overtime as well. Her shift would end in a few minutes but she wouldn't leave with ACU working to containing a highly aggressive predator.

* * *

Hamada approached the beacon's location slowly. Every little sound set his nerves on end. The indominus rex had killed Austin's troop immediately after her escape. Even with Jonas's troop as backup, Hamada felt shorthanded.

His heart thundered as he carefully scrutinized his surroundings. They were getting very close. The signal was pinging to a spot right in front of him. Thick bushes gave cover, but not enough to hide something the size of the indominus rex… he hoped.

Taking a calming breath, Hamada firmed his resolve. Pushing sharp branches aside until he was right on top of the signal, he crouched down and searched through thick leaves and stems. A light blinked against the ground.

Reaching down, Hamada picked up a bloody hunk of flesh with the indominus's tracker imbedded within it. The blood was congealed and there was no sign of the indominus in the immediate area.

* * *

The familiar scents of her home territory were a balm to Blue's rattled nerves. There was no sign of Thief in the territory. Yet something felt off.

Sleep pulled at her. Anxiety had her twitching from foot to foot. Delta and Charlie were curled up and sleeping against the metal gate. Leader slept just out of reach on the other side. Echo drowsily nibbled her claws clean.

Her skin prickled, the wounds itched where Scary Alpha had closed them. She could smell Scary Alpha's scent on every member of her pack… even Leader. She did not like visits from his pack. Not even Leader challenged Scary Alpha's authority.

Blue jumped as a bird screeched into the night. Her heart thudded painfully fast. She needed to search the territory, make sure the pack was safe.

A loud chirrup successfully startled Charlie awake. Delta groaned but didn't open her eyes. Leader's head popped up as he gave her a bleary eyed look, groaned her name with a reprimand and dropped his head back down. Echo simple turned to look at Blue.

Leaving Charlie with lookout duties, Blue led Echo through their territory.

* * *

Easing her foot onto the brake, Claire gently stopped her car and put it in park. Turning, she looked her nephews in the eye. She didn't really trust them to keep their side of the deal in coming out here.

"Remember, you need to stay in the car." Zack rolled his eyes and fiddled with his phone while Gray nodded before rambling about velociraptors while pressing his nose against the window. She left the car on with the air conditioner running as she exited the vehicle. Even with the sun down it was still hot out.

She headed over to the office building. She hoped iNGen installed air conditioning because the building looked more like a tin box than an office from the outside.

* * *

Lucas walked towards the chatting park rangers across the catwalk. They had just received notification that the indominus rex's location was unknown and someone had just arrived with important documents. He would head over to the office after the personnel on site were armed, and the rangers had the keys to the armory. He hadn't received one yet.

He wanted all project personnel in the area armed with both nonlethal and lethal weapons. The park wanted to keep the indominus rex alive but if it came down to the lives of his staff or the indominus rex then Lucas was more than willing to put his career on the line and authorize his people to use lethal force – with or without Jurassic World's approval.

They would need to wake Grady up even though he had only gone to 'bed' an hour ago under orders from the medics. Glancing down he could see Grady sleeping on a cot on one side of the arena gate while two of the raptors were resting against the metal bars.

Only a few minutes ago the entire pack had been there. He searched for the other raptors, but couldn't see them.

He picked up his pace as goosebumps spread across his arms. He heard one of the missing raptors screech from the other side of the paddock. It was one of the few raptor calls he actually recognized; a warning of danger.

The catwalk rattled as the ground shook. A high pitched roar blasted away his hearing momentarily. The indominus rex charged out of the trees and straight into the arena wall. Powerful muscles drove her massive body right through the steel with a resounding crash. Rending metal snagged the tough skin of the hybrid leaving bloody trails in her flesh.

Lucas only had a moment to look at the hybrid under the arena spotlights before the catwalk gave way beneath him. He gasped. One of the rangers screamed as they all fell. He landed hard on top of the unforgiving steel grating. The world turned black.

He never saw the teeth that tore him apart.

* * *

The rhythmic shaking of the ground woke Owen. He bolted off the cot when the distinct sound of the indominus roaring was followed by tearing metal screeching loudly. Everywhere hurt, from his braced ankle to his pounding head. Charlie was standing guard on the other side of the gate while Delta barely bothered lifting her head.

Dr. Peters had wanted to have Charlie and Delta on 'stall rest' while they recovered, but had acknowledged (due to past experience) that the velociraptors would be restless and prone to further injury if they were separated. They were in no condition to deal with the indominus rex… who shouldn't be here.

Owen watched in dismay as the catwalk fell into the raptor arena, someone screamed. From the way it fell, whatever had caused the problem was on the other side of the arena where trees blocked his view. He had a horrible feeling he knew what was over there.

The ground shuddered as something large moved through the raptor arena. He could hear Blue and Echo barking threats. He recognized the indominus's voice as it responded to the territorial raptors. Owen glanced around the enclosed area he had been sleeping in, no one else was present and the door leading outside was latched.

He opened the gate.

Delta hissed when the bars she had been leaning against rose up and away from her. Adrenaline raced through him – both due to the sudden appearance of the hybrid as well as voluntarily allowing injured, temperamental velociraptors into the same space as him.

"Delta. Charlie." Both raptors focused on Owen. His stomached twisted as the indominus moved out of the trees and closer to their group. Blue was clinging to her back, biting and clawing the thick hide. With no encouragement on Owen's part, both Delta and Charlie darted into the holding area with him.

He couldn't see Echo.

Blue fell as the indominus twisted under her. The raptor quickly regained her feet. Blue growled and charged the hybrid. The indominus surged towards the raptor. Owen needed to do something or Blue would die trying to protect the pack. He didn't have any keys on him to open the weapons locker.

He really wished he had his rifle.

He whistled as loud as he could and called Blue to him. Perhaps they could at least buy some time for ACU to arrive.

Blue screeched a reply as she feinted towards the indominus's left side. She swerved around Owen as she sprinted into the holding area.

Blue's sides were heaving as she examined to enclosed space. The beta raptor focused on the door before jogging over to the control panel, completely ignoring Owen's attempts to stop her. She pressed one button, opening the door from the holding area.

Wide eyed, Owen hobbled quickly after the Blue, Delta and Charlie trailed him. Metal groaned behind him as the indominus began tearing the gate apart. His heart nearly stopped at the scene before him.

He shouted in desperation, "Blue, hold!"

The raptor slid to a stop right in front of Barry and Claire. He could see the terror in Claire's eyes as she stared at the loose velociraptor. A crash of steel shredding had Owen twisting back around to see the indominus emerging from the side of the arena.

This was not good.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful support and great comments. It was your encouragement in the early chapters that got me to delve deeper into the characters instead of skimming along the top and keeping it fairly basic. This story is more than twice the length I'd originally estimated it would be once completed.

I _almost_ feel bad about ruining the sort of happy ending from chapter nine. So many people were thrilled that Owen and the raptors had escaped the paddock and then I give you this unhappy, open ended epilogue wherein they are not safe or happy.

Funnily enough, the initial muse for this story was a horse that the indominus rex reminded me of. That boss mare also inspired the breakout in the epilogue. A lot of this story was inspired by how that mare took over an established herd of horses.

Many different animals I know or have known contributed behavioral traits and quirks to the velociraptors and indominus rex (mostly, but not limited to: parakeets, horses and wolves); all animals that I drew inspiration from were born and raised in captivity. Some were imprinted by humans while others were not.

I reviewed the first three Jurassic Park films to figure out just how intelligent the velociraptors should be. The raptors are smart; they are problem solvers, capable of figuring out human emotions and human group dynamics. And I had to incorporate the fact that the velociraptors in Jurassic World communicated _verbally_ with the indominus rex.

Then I had to make the indominus rex intelligent while still being mentally unstable. Everything about the indominus rex is a recipe for disaster – too many genetic codes hashed together (a mess of conflicting instincts) and brought up in a small paddock without any type of mental or social stimuli.


End file.
